Review of 2012

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In 2012

How Sustainable was Ireland

Socially, Economically, and Morally?

The figures speak for themselves. On Environmental issues, carbon taxes are said to have reduced our thirst for carbon emitting fuels. However, I personally would dispute the actual cause of reduced consumption. Fuel poverty has grown to unacceptable levels and people simply cannot afford to properly heat their homes, and are doing without. Another factor is the unemployment situation which has increased by a sickening 352% in 5 years. Unemployed people leave the country, and they also do not use cars as much.

However, the statistics that worry me the most are the ones pointing to social instability, and the dearth of moral leadership by those in charge of running society.

STRESS and DEPRESSION IN IRISH CHILDREN up in 2 years by 30%

ALCOHOL and SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN IRELAND up by 42%

(increased 42% in 5 years 2005 to 2010)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE up from 2010 to 2011 by 15%
(11,000 women and children sought refuge in 2011 according to SAFE organisation).

UNEMPLOYMENT has increased by 352%

( from 4.2% in 2007 to 14.8% by October 2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT among 15 to 24y group nationally stands at 39%

UNEMPLOYMENT in the 15 to 25y group in some areas is at 74%
HOUSE BUILDING homes built 8,488 has dropped over 90% since 2006 at 93,000, and is 20% down in one year.
BUSINESS INSOLVENCIES Up 13.30% from 2010.
(1,684 companies failed in 2012 alone)

FUEL POVERTY, (the decision to Eat or Heat) estimated to affect 40% of citizens

FOOD POVERTY in 2010 was estimated to be at 10%
FOOD PRICES have risen by an average of 12% in the last two years.
HOMELESSNESS up by as much as 45% in Dublin.

(from 70 in 2010 to a current estimate of as much as 101)

RETAIL SALES are down by 5.50%

SUICIDES are up in 2011 from 2010 by 7%

TRUST in the Irish Government in a recent survey fell to a mere 20%

DISSATISFACTION WITH GOVERNMENT stands at 73%
POLITICIANS are the 2nd least trusted profession in Ireland.
(Only 14% of Irish people trust politicians - I wonder why?  How about 26 TDs, members of the Irish Parliament, each claimed €5,000 expenses for August - when there are no sittings of the House)

DISPOSABLE INCOME SURVEY: 1.60 million Irish have €50 or less left each month after paying for essentials. In other words, roughly 36% of the Irish population have disposable income of €600 or less per year.
DISPOSABLE INCOME in lower income groups effectively down by nearly 19%

By contrast:

INCOME FOR TOP IRISH EARNERS is up on average by over 4%

DUBLIN CITY MANAGER salary €190,000

COUNTY MANAGERS salary €153,260

Compare salaries:

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER'S salary €78,185

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Is Time Running Out for Ireland?

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Is Time running out for Ireland?

a painting by Shameus O Conman

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Thorium Reactors the Future of Energy?

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An experimental Thorium Reactor built in 1954

What's the Thorium Storium?

I apologise for dropping the ball on the Thorium question in recent months. I have been doing a little bit more research reading in the last few weeks, and the ever-present question in my mind is; Is Thorium a viable interim answer to the Energy Crisis?

There are a bunch of pro-Thorium actions groups, interested parties, and even some elements of the loonies, all strongly promoting the use of Thorium as a safe, cheap, and viable nuclear fuel, the answer, they say, to the worlds energy needs.

The pro-Thorium arguments include:

1. Thorium is very plentiful.

2. Thorium is cheap, only a tiny fraction of the cost of Uranium.

3. Thorium is very much safer than Uranium or Plutonium.

4. Thorium waste is not as toxic and much easier and cheaper to dispose of than the current nuclear fuels.

5. Thorium Molten Salt Reactors by definition simply cannot explode like Chernobyl or Fukushima, and will fail-safe self shut down in an emergency.

6. Thorium cannot be used to make atomic weapons.

The BOMB and Thorium

The Atomic Weapons, the anti-Thorium people would say:

The Thorium reaction process has to use some Uranium. During the reaction process Uranium 232 and 233 are mixed together and generally cannot be separated. As a result the enrichment of the uranium to weapon’s grade levels is theoretically not possible. However, Uranium 233 has been tested in at least one nuclear warhead, but the explosive power was much lower. There is no clear indication of how the contamination from Uranium 232 might impinge on the process.

Some reports suggest that Germany has experimented with a secretive project to breed Protactinium 233 from Thorium 232. Protactinium 233 naturally degrades into Uranium 233 provided that it is not subject to further radiation bombardment after transmutation has commenced otherwise it becomes contaminated.

Essentially, as I understand it, there is at least a healthy doubt about the assertion that Thorium is not capable of fuelling atomic bombs.

Some Other Problems with Thorium

While Thorium advocates would say that at least the interim use of Thorium is inevitable, there are several difficulties and roadblocks on the path towards it's universal use.

(1) One big problem is that some reactor designs would create significant 233U, a long-lived, dirty, and very dangerous radioactive waste product.

(2) Thorium reactor efficiency has been shown to work well in laboratory situations, but replicating similar high levels of fuel burn could present challenges in the real world.

(3) Many unanswered questions remain about the nuclear reaction chains involved in Thorium reactors. Indications would seem to point towards the fact that they either produce some fission products capable of corrupting Uranium 233, or they will require Uranium recycling technology that is, as yet, unproven.

Is Thorium the Future?

Well maybe – and maybe not. There are some clear arguments regarding the advantages of Thorium as a nuclear fuel. But equally clear that the technology is largely unproven and there are certainly some disadvantages to its use. 

 "Small" and "Low-Cost" Thorium Reactor design being proposed

The pro-Thorium lobby argue that Molten-Salt reactors, like those pioneered in the 1960s, at least on paper, display all the benefits of traditional Thorium driven reactions without the negatives. The proposals are for the use of several small reactors on sites, rather than the current trend for huge installations.

The pro-Thorium lobby suggest that smallish Thorium Liquid Salt Reactors could be factory built and transported to the operating sites, thus saving vast amounts of money.

Another factor to consider is that vested interests in the nuclear industry would tend to hold back a move away from Uranium – something similar to the drag effect seen from the petroleum industry in the move to sustainable energy.

International Thorium Research

Because of the vast costs involved in Thorium research, there is an emerging trend where organisations involved in Thorium research in the United States are partnering with those in Russia and China

Despite this co-operative approach, a study, published last year, suggests that Thorium reactors, because of the huge capital investment needed, are not expected to be shipping from the local Walmart any time soon despite the hoped for potential benefits.

Thorium in mixed oxide (MOX) fuels reactors is a more likely development in the near future. Some benefits still exist in the use of Thorium MOX such as, the lowering radioactive waste and the increase in the destruction of deadly Plutonium.

Overall the general feeling seems to be that the likelihood of Thorium completely replacing Uranium, at least in the short to medium term, is very low.



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Squeezing the Life from Ireland

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Squeezing the Life-Blood from Ireland

a painting by Shameus O Conman

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Poll Tax Property Tax Imbalance and Inequity

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0.2% Property Tax

Unfair - Unjust

Inequitable - Imbalanced

An annual Poll Tax or Property Tax of 0.2% of the rated value of the family home is to be imposed on the Irish population.

What worries and upsets me is that for instance the Prime Minister on a salary of €200,000 + Expenses will pay exactly the same rate of Property Tax as  his next door neighbor who is earning €30,000. That simple fact makes this a grossly inequitable tax and one which adds to the already serious imbalances affecting Ireland.

Social Stability Cliff

I am very worried that Ireland is seeing a further acceleration in the slide towards - not a Fiscal Cliff - so much as a Social Stability Cliff. The recession statistical indicators are already showing a deeply troubled situation and massive social problems are developing due to the hardships and difficulties being experienced. This imbalanced tax could be the tipping point.



The Imbalance Indicators:

STRESS and DEPRESSION IN IRISH CHILDREN up in 2 years by 30%

ALCOHOL and SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN IRELAND up by 42%

(increased 42% in 5 years 2005 to 2010)
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE up from 2010 to 2011 by 15%
(11,000 women and children sought refuge in 2011 according to SAFE organisation).

UNEMPLOYMENT has increased by 352%

( from 4.2% in 2007 to 14.8% by October 2012)

UNEMPLOYMENT among 15 to 24y group nationally stands at 39%

UNEMPLOYMENT in the 15 to 25y group in some areas is at 74%

FUEL POVERTY, (the decision to Eat or Heat) estimated to affect 40% of citizens

FOOD POVERTY in 2010 was estimated to be at 10%
HOMELESSNESS up by 20% in Dublin

RETAIL SALES are down by 5.50%

SUICIDES are up in 2011 from 2010 by 7%

TRUST in the Irish Government in a recent survey fell to a mere 20%

DISSATISFACTION WITH GOVERNMENT stands at 73%
POLITICIANS are the 2nd least trusted profession in Ireland.
(Only 14% of Irish people trust politicians - I wonder why?  How about 26 TDs, members of the Irish Parliament, each claimed €5,000 expenses for August - when there are no sittings of the House)

DISPOSABLE INCOME in lower income groups effectively down by nearly 19%

By contrast:

INCOME FOR TOP IRISH EARNERS is up on average by over 4%

DUBLIN CITY MANAGER salary €190,000

COUNTY MANAGERS salary €153,260

Compare salaries:

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER'S salary €78,185

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