Stephen Taylor: Nuclear Power is Magic!

In an attempt to slag the Ontario NDP and Liberal parties, Taylor expresses his frustration that they have not rushed to embrace nuclear (nukular, for you Bushophiles) power. He asks,

'Is nuclear not a "green" form of energy?'

Of course "green" means whatever an author wants it to mean, so perhaps it is for Taylor. You can call a car "green" but it's not as green as walking. I'm not sure what Taylor thinks is going to happen with all those incredibly radioactive fuel rods for the next several centuries. Can we keep them at his house?

Don't worry though, this is the best part:

"From an engineering perspective, we want select[sic] methods of energy production that maximizes output, minimizes cost and minimizes waste."

HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's funny, Stephen, ever heard of the Darlington nuclear plant? It ended up costing over $14 billion dollars. At the time it was often said that the only megaproject that had cost more was the Channel Tunnel. How about the cost of refurbishing the Pickering nuclear reactors? A billion here, a billion there and soon, as they say, you're talking about real money.

Of course maybe this is just a problem with CANDU reactors and Ontario ought to let free market competition determine whether France's Areva (among others) has a more reliable, cheaper product. But wait, Taylor's own party seems to want to insist on a sort of CANDU monopoly in Ontario. At least that's what I gather from Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn's take on any new nuclear construction in Ontario. That sounds like a great way to minimize cost and waste. Given enough time, between this and all the no-bid military contracts, the Conservatives are going to make adscam seem like a bargain.