Nuclear, French Style

Ah, the French. While I love to poke fun at them and their, um, French ways, I have to give them credit for their successful nuclear power program. There, I said it. The French do something right that isn't silly.

The New York Times ran a piece titled, "France Reaffirms Its Faith in Future of Nuclear Power" on August 17, 2008. In it, the explain how France got its act together, starting in the late 1950s, to be as close to energy independent as possible. The article states, "Nuclear power provides 77 percent of France’s electricity, according to the government, and relatively few public doubts are expressed in a country with little coal, oil or natural gas." Certainly, this has helped smooth out many economic bumps experienced by those countries without such an aggressive nuclear policy. Additionally, think of how clean the air is without all of those coal plants?

Did I mention that nuclear power is clean, reliable, and cost effective? Here is where France really makes nuclear the best option: "He (senior aide to Jean-Louis Borloo, the minister of ecology, sustainable development and planning) said that France’s choice for a “closed fuel cycle” — reprocessing used nuclear fuel to recover plutonium made in the reactors so it can be reused — was safer." Too bad Jimmy Carter banned fuel reprocessing in the US. Spent fuel from first use has about 95% of its active ingredient left. Hey, recycling, what an idea!

Finally, the French discovered that having a successful power program is great for their economy. In some towns, the 60-year life cycle of a nuclear power plant, "...we have economic activity for two generations.”

Electric Car Finds its Niche

In a brutally honest (and refreshing) piece in Reuters, titled "Electric cars -- It's the economy, stupid!" the author gives a real-world assessment of her Reva G-Wiz, pictured on the left. Guess what, it isn't all pretty, but that's not why I like the article.

The author purchased the car to be able to drive in London and avoid the congestion tax, as well as the $9 a gallon gasoline, and also take advantage of free parking. To that I say, "Good for you!" She wisely identified that her objective was to have self-determination in transportation and a cost that suited her budget.

From the article, "...I set up a spread sheet when I bought the car and I fill in the savings I make on the congestion charge, estimated on petrol and on parking... I sold my old car and I have now "made back" the expenditure on the G-Wiz through these savings... I "paid off" the car in March this year and am on the way to "paying off" the total amount."

So what' the catch? The car go only go about 40 miles per charge. Additionally, that 40 miles is really only in mild weather on flat roads. It has poor acceleration and is very small. The author also stated that going up hills was like riding a bicycle.

What this article really is about is choice, and that's what I like about the article. The consumer had a choice of the beefier car, but was faced with congestion tax, parking fees, and very expensive gas. She chose an alternative which saved her money and suited her needs. Long live the free market!!

Enjoy this Jeremy Clarkson ( of the BBC's Top Gear) video of his take on the G-Wiz. It is in about 2 minutes or so. He takes those two minutes to mock the French.