"We need to start building nuclear power plants like there's no tomorrow, and without undue regulation and litigation. No Middle East, no smoke, no soot, no hydrocarbons, no greenhouse effect, no dependance. Just an unlimited supply of cheap, clean power." I guess the bottom is very, very close.
sure man. build your nukes. invent your fuel cells (which all seem curiously dependent on LP gas). When they're economically feasible (i.e. when they exist, when they are reliable, and when they are affordable) maybe then will good ol' Detroit Muscle be priced out of the market. It's better when markets allocate resources. Of course, you can warp the market with anti-petroleum legislation, but only if you want to send us back to the dark ages in a hurry. Until then, it's Grey Davis' pipe dream. And until then, did you know that the USA is the <i>Saudi Arabia</i> of coal, according to those who are supposed to know, and that 21st century technology can burn it cleanly?
How clean is that power when it produces waste that will be radioactive for tens of thousands of years? Is Yucca mountain going to survive with no leaks for 20,000 years? When the waste is shipped cross-country via truck, if and when the truck crashes, it won't be pretty. The Exxon Valdez will look tame by comparison. But hey, who cares, right? We'll all be dead before that nasty nuke waste becomes a headache.
See Thug Life response on post 1 / page 5 of this thread. Don't want the stuff buried in my backyard. How 'bout you? Thanks Thug. BSAM
This is an interesting thread and the topic seemed to escape beneath the radar screen for awhile today...If you look at C, JPM, BAC(all banks with massive exposures to either derivatives or to the near bankrupt and/or bankrupt companies) you can also see something serious when the banking stocks just get killed on 5-6 times their average volume WITH major moves in dollar and gold...This is scary stuff...This is reminding more and more everyday of the Fall, 1998 when LTCM was going down in a blaze of glory...The price action in the index futures is very similar, choppy and lacking commitment, but generally finishing lower...Lots of volume, but just a total lack of commitment to holding it at any level...Also wondering if MSFT holdings are being liquidated to raise cash in this same scenario...At this point, I feel technical levels are less important...The impending liquidity crunch is taking center stage...When these giants are in a fiasco and the bloodletting is just inevitable, NO ONE wants to get in the way of this type of selling... Back in March, financials were single largest component of SPX(31%), not sure what the weighting is now...But I think this also explains alot of the reason why the spreads between the SPX/NDX have been widening...If the holders of these financial stocks could not find the liquidity to sell with these stocks dropping like rocks, it only makes sense with the low tick readings all day and massive sell programs, that futures were just the liquidity of last resort at this point...Maybe another reason for the massive volume surge in the ES of late...Only liquidity left... That Waxie e-mail is pretty damn good...Never thought I would compliment the guy, but the JPM thing and the DOW in the 5000's, that is a decent forecast...We'll see how it plays out...
I agree that todays' solution (Yucca Mt.) is ridiculous. I lived in Nevada and it is a scary thing. But I do believe that the technology should not be just abandoned. Yeah, we got ahead of ourselves and have been for 50 years because of the stated problems. But solutions for disposition of the waste will evolve, as will the entire technology. It is the future...no doubt. What are the alternatives? Wind and solar are obviously the most desirable on an ecological basis, but it's doubtful they will ever provide the quantity of energy we will be consuming. Maybe I am wrong about this....that would be nice. But here again, it's just another avenue to explore. Just like nuclear. FYI, I marched on Rocky Flats every Sunday for 6 months. So don't think I am unconcerned. As a matter of fact, when I sold my house in Boulder, I refused to take an offer from a legit buyer. He was the PR guy for Rocky Flats. I didn't want to do that to my neighbors. Funniest thing was before I knew who he was, and he came and looked with a broker, he made a big deal about Radon levels. I wish I had known that day what he did for a living!
All of the spooky, ignorant paranoia aside, building more nuclear plants is the wise, politically and economically advantageous and environmentally friendly thing to do. We'd better get busy before we all end up with brownouts and blackouts like they had in California, the environmental state. Is it a coincidence that the first energy crisis(in many that are sure to follow) happened there? They caused the problem with all of their hippy-dippy regulations and protests and subsidies and then had the gall to complain when the poop hit the fan. "Oh poor us, we are such victims, it's not our fault". It was really funny! I was laughing for weeks.
The big talk among the gold and currency guys is that someone, somewhere is repatriating huge sums of money to cover their ass. As far as I can see it is the best explanation for the precipitous drop in both AU and the Euro yesterday AT THE SAME TIME the SM was tanking. Gold dropped $ 7 yesterday in the time it took to write this ... I also smell an LTCM style rat. The secret at night meeting ... the market and gold and currencies all tanking at the same time ... and te huge drop in the bank stocks this last week. JPM has Mega-HUGE derivatives positions, especially in gold. and C is the number one household finance lender ( and the banker of IB (and my personal bank) as well. Its been bad so far for John Q, but this is just the tip of the iceberg I think.