About Flagpole. (Athens, Ga.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 2011)
Created lor artists 01 all ages and skill levels * \ Friday, October 14th 6:30-9:30pm Sign up at www.pintsandpaints.com 675 Pulaski St.'Leathers Building HAPPy HOUR Monday-Friday 4-7pm Wednesdays Live Music 6pm 10/5 SHAimon Open 4pm Mon-Fri and i lam Sat Sun m Bx the 1 oop Next to Tall Box Bex crage Co. \V J /V 2095 S. Milledge Ave. *^1 706-548-3359 'TAMIL Y TRY Cl AY” Hand-Building Workshop EVERY SUNDAY 2-4pm - run For All Ages! /Aniens, Ga MM Half Marathon NEED5 YOU! A Benefit for AthFest Educational Programs ...for Expo operations, course directing, race-day operations, runner hospitality and other projects. To sign up for the Athens, GA Half Marathon October 22-23, 2011, please visit the HandsOn Northeast Georgia website at http://volunteer.truist.com/hng/volunteer/home BOTH ARTISTS BOTH NIGHTS SWITCHING OFF HEADLINING SETS NEXT FRIDAY-SATURDAY! SPECIAL GUESTS BIG GIGANTIC / BONOBO DJ SET BEATS ANTIQUE / SUPERDRE ALL AGES/6PM DOORS All PRETTY LIGHTS MUSIC AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD AX PISTTYUGHTSMUSiC.COM V&ri70nwireless AMPHITHEATRE NUCLEAR PLANTS MAKE ME NERVOUS The Nuclear Regulatory Commission began its hearings last week on a request from Southern Co. for a license to build and operate two more nuclear reactors at Georgia Poxver's Plant Vogtle. It appears likely the NRC will grant the licenses for the Vogtle units either later this year or by next January, which would give Georgia the distinction of having the first new nuclear plants to be authorized in this country in more than 30 years. I'm not sure that is something we should celebrate. This is the most expensive proj ect ever undertaken in this state—Georgia Power now estimates the cost of building the reactors at nearly $15 billion, a total that will most surely go up after the inevitable cost overruns occur. Consumers and small businesses even now are paying higher rates—six years before the plants even begin operating— just to cover the financing costs of this massive project. These rate hikes are being imposed on the average homeowner in the mid dle of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. There's nothing to be done about the financial aspects of this project, of course. The Georgia Public Service Commission voted to authorize the higher rates, and that deci sion will not be reversed. There is another factor, however, that makes me very nervous about these nuclear reactors, and should make you nervous as well. Six months ago we saw the horrific melt down of a nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan, after an earthquake hit that part of the country. Japanese residents will have to deal for years with the high incidence of cancer and other health hazards associated with the release of all that radioactivity. The vigilant members of our PSC aren't worried that such a calamity could happen here. I have yet to hear any of them express the slightest concern about the possibil ity of a meltdown at Plant Vogtle. I'm sure the commissioners and their good friends at Georgia Power would tell you not to worry, because earthquakes just don't happen in Georgia. Except that they do. When an earthquake hit Virginia in August, the tremors were felt in Atlanta and other parts of North Georgia. If you go to the web site of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), you will learn that other earthquakes have hit Georgia harder than the Virginia quake. Georgia felt tremors from the New Madrid series of earthquakes in 1811-12. There was an earthquake in Milledgeville in 1872. An earthquake centered near Tybee Island shook the Savannah area in 1903, an earth quake happened southeast of Atlanta in 1916, and an earthquake was recorded northeast of Macon in 1964. Here's some more information from the USGS files: "The great Charleston, SC earthquake of 1886 caused severe shaking experienced in Georgia. On Aug. 31 at 9:25 p.m., preceded by a low rumble, the shock waves reached Savannah... Ten buildings in Savannah were damaged beyond repair and at least 240 chimneys damaged. People spent the night outside. At Tybee Island light station the 134-foot lighthouse was cracked near the middle where the walls were six feet thick, and the one-ton tens moved an inch and a half to the northeast. "In Augusta the shaking was the most severe (VIII on the Modified Mercalli scale) in the state. An estimated 1,000 chimneys and many buildings were damaged." Keep in mind that the Plant Vogtle reactors will be located not that far from Augusta. It is true that Georgia is not situated on a fault line, so the possibility of a severe earthquake here is a small one. But even if that small pos sibility doesn't bother the public servants at the PSC, it makes me very nervous. Tom Crawford tcrawford@gareport com THIS MSIhlN WtILB TOP REPUBLICANS CONSULT WITH THE BRILLIANT DR. VON PHILBERT.' WE WANT TO GIVE AMERICANS LOWER GAS PRICES! USING MY newly-completed TIME TUNNEL, I WILL SEND YOU MIL LIONS Of YEARS INTO THE PAST— TO THE LAND MASS WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY BECOME THE U.S.— -WHERE YOU WILL EXPONENTIALLY INCREASE THE DINOSAUR POPU LATION THROUGH A PROCESS Of ACCELERATED Dy TOM TOMORROW YOU WILL THEN HUNT THEM DOWN AND KILL THEM.' BY THE TIME YOU RETURN, THERE WILL BE PLENTY Of EXTRA OIL--RIGHT UNDER OUR OWN PEET! I I BUT YOU MUST BE VERY CAREfUL NOT TO CHANGE ANYTHING ELSE IN THE PAST. 6 FLAGPOLE.COM • OCTOBER 5,2011 UM "TJM^RRpWsiOII •••'*ww.thismod«mworld.com...twitter.com/tomtomorrow
