[War] Canada: "China Syndrome"

[Michael Downey]

"China Syndrome"
Prime Minister R. Leon MacIntyre
Canada
3 April 2013
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"We are a very lucky country," mused MacIntyre as he reclined in the
plush chair behind his desk. " We are blessed with lots of oil.
Alberta, the territories, the coast of Newfoundland. Even more if we
could just settle the dispute with the US over the Beaufort Sea.
Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. But, oil is kind of like the
dark side of the Force. Quick, easy and destroys everyone who becomes
too reliant on it. Both for export and for import. Luckily for us most
of our domestic power comes from hydro energy or our own oil reserves.
However we are still affected by swings in global energy prices, in no
small part to Uncle Sam's hunger for that black gold. And now China
and Japan are angling to get more from us too."

"Which is a good thing," pointed out Edward Cameron, the Industry
Minister. "Everyone likes to be as self-sufficient as possible, and
oil revenue makes everyone happy."

"Except we're not as independent from foreign oil as people think,"
continued MacIntyre. "Many of our oil production facilities are
located far away from our industrial centers and most of the oil we do
produce isn't the kind we actually consume ourselves. Most of THAT we
get from Arabs, just like the rest of the world."

"Hydropower is still the major source of energy for our cities and
industries," DeMonte pointed out. "We can resist shocks to the energy
market better than the US can."

"What if we weren't dependent on foreign oil at all? What if we drew
most of our own power from hydro and *nuclear power.*?"

"Nuclear power?" asked Cameron.

"Yeah, nuclear energy. You know, like on the Simpsons."

"There's controversy around nuclear energy." DeMonte frowned slightly.
"A lot of hesitation and environmental fears."

MacIntyre gave DeMonte a sour look. The Finance Minister, and Deputy
PM, was always such an old woman. "Steven, you and I know that nuclear
energy, when handles properly and responsibly, is perfectly safe. Of
course Chernobyl exploded. It was a poorly designed, poorly built,
poorly operated mess. A microcosm for everything that was wrong with
the Soviet Union. Please don't tell me you suffer from China
Syndrome?"

"Chalk River," countered DeMonte.

"That was back in the 1950's when the technology was in it's infancy,"
said MacIntyre. "And there was not a single case of injury in illness
in any of the workers or  cleanup crew." He leaned forward. "Look,
think of this in economic terms. Most of the world's oil supply is
located in the Middle East, the most volatile and unstable powder keg
on Earth. Conveniently enough, most of the world's uranium is located
here in Canada or in Australia. I don't know about us, but Australia
seems pretty good at the moment. AECL has finalized the first
commercial design of the Advanced CANDU Reactor. We are completely
self-sufficient in the material, technology and expertise needed to
begin construction of new reactors."

"France has some of the lowest energy costs in the Western World,"
said Cameron, looking over at DeMonte. "They get nearly 80% of their
domestic power from nuclear sources. They've never had an accident in
forty years."

"And they export a great deal of that nuclear-produced power to Italy,
Germany and the UK," added on the PM. "Hey, doesn't the most
energy-hungry nation on Earth life downstairs?"

"Environmental concerns." DeMonte knew the PM viewed him as too
cautious but someone always had to act as the voice of reason.

"Low, and much better than fossil fuels. Carbon emissions are having
serious detrimental affects upon the environment. We pump that black
shit out into the air and it goes everywhere. Into our lungs, the
water, the upper atmosphere. That gets you global warming,
deforestation, acid rain, repertory disease. Compare nuclear waste to
that per ton and it's a miniscule amount. Not to mention we can safely
bury nuclear waste in sealed caverns were its toxic effects will be
isolated from the rest of the world for the rest of eternity. People
aren't fearful ignorants who are going to get hysterical the moment
they hear the words 'atoms' or 'nuclear.' People are smart. A careful
and detailed public explanation of the facts will clearly show that
nuclear power is safe for the environment, good for the public health,
and beneficial for the economy."

"What did you have in mind?" asked DeMonte, relenting.

"Fifteen reactors in ten years," said the PM. "The ACR-1000 design is
marked to produce 1200 MWe and has some of the most comprehensive
safety features ever installed in a reactor design. I've already
gotten Legislative Affairs to write up the bill for Parliament. It
includes the funding needed for the reactors, the construction of a
waste storage site in Labrador, and recruitment of operators. And
since AECL is Federally owned, we can relocate all the profits
directly back into the start-up costs. The reactors will literally pay
for themselves. We're calling it the 'Canadian Nuclear Energy
Program.' Catchy, isn't it?"

Actions:
1) Introduce the Canadian Nuclear Energy Program.
2) Fifteen ACR-1000 reactors are to be built over ten years, along
with a waste storage facility in Labrador.
3) All energy is to be used for domestic consumption, with the
possibility of export to the United States.
4) Begin a educational campaign to stamp out irrational fear mongering
that might occur over nuclear energy.
5) As the AECL is a crown corporation, all profits from the CNEP are
to be put directly into construction and procurement costs once the
reactors are online.
6) The ultimate goal of the CNEP is to reduce Canada's consumption of
fossil fuels, reduce carbon gas emissions, and highlight Canada's
highly advanced nuclear technology to potential foreign customers.