Month: April 2024

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Rhetoric Blog 10: “The Threat of Nuclear Weapons, Explained” – YouTube Video by USA Today

In light of my advocacy project focusing on making a short form video pushing for nuclear disarmament, I thought it would be fitting to find and analyze some videos that attempt to do the same. The video that got closest to my purpose was this video by USA Today, which provided viewers with a brief overview of the nuclear arsenals of the world and the treaties that have been successful in lowering the quantities of weapons in these arsenals.  

In contrast to my project, however, this video’s purpose is more to inform than persuade and motivate viewers to act on the issue. Still, the video does emphasize why nuclear weapons are a problem and the consequences that this issue poses. The video begins with shots of nuclear explosions, which instantly grab the attention of the viewer. To further draw the viewer in, the narrator cites statistics of the devastating effects of just one nuclear explosion, from environmental effects to human deaths. While thought provoking, I feel as though just listing statistics doesn’t make the issue feel very personal however, and the video could receive more engagement if it related this to a narrative of an individual in the midst of a nuclear war. If I have time in my project, I should include something like that. After emphasizing the threat, I also think that the video should have included a clear path to action, something else my project should include, however I guess this wasn’t the intention of the video.  

Since the primary intention of this video was to educate and not necessarily persuade, it did an effective job achieving this purpose. Directed towards an audience of everyday Americans without background knowledge of the history of nuclear weapons, the video breaks the issue into separate aspects, and devotes short portions of the video to each topic to fully explain the issue while retaining attention. To enhance ethos, the video includes verbal or visual attributions to the sources for statistics. Similarly, the video uses clean graphics and smooth transitions to further enhance its credibility and remain interesting to the viewer.  

Overall, the rhetoric used in this video efficiently captures the main issues and background information relevant to the nuclear weapon crisis and presents it in an appealing manner to the average American viewer. The short, fast paced layout of the video coupled with appealing visuals is a strategy that would be beneficial to mimic for my advocacy project to accomplish some of the same objectives as this video.

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Palisades Nuclear Reactor To Be the First US Reactor To Restart After “Final” Shutdown

In March of 2024, the Biden Administration announced a loan of $1.5 billion towards the restart of the Holtech-owned Palisades nuclear power plant in Michigan. If the plan goes through and the Palisades plant is able to be restarted, this will mark the first time that the US has recommissioned a previously shut-down nuclear plant. The loan and restart of the reactor is projected to create economic gain in the region and promote the US’ goal of decarbonization. However, like many projects in the nuclear energy industry, the plan is not without its opponents.  

A History of Palisades 

Initially licensed for operation at full power in 1973, the Palisades nuclear plant in Detroit features a singular 800 MW reactor. The plant was originally scheduled for decommissioning in 2011, however an extension of this deadline was successfully filed with the NRC, pushing the decommissioning date back to 2031. The plant was shut down before this date though, mainly due to financial reasons under its previous ownership by Entergy. In 2022, the plant was sold to Holtech, who sought to restore the plant to operation, seeking – and now receiving – government aid for this process.  

The Benefits 

The main benefit that it sought to be realized by this endeavor is a stronger supply of carbon-neutral energy. Nuclear energy emits zero carbon emissions during operation, and this plays well into the Biden administration’s goal of a net-zero grid by 2050. The reoperation of the Palisades plant is expected to prevent the emission of 4.47 million tons of carbon dioxide per year by replacing fossil fuel energy sources (“LPO”). Investment in this project helps to renew this powerful source of energy without all the frustrations of building and licensing a new nuclear plant; as shown with Georgia’s Vogtle plant earlier this year, investments into new large power reactors typically take decades to see fruition.  

The project also boasts economic benefits for the region. Michigan governor Gretchen Witmer projects a regional economic impact of approximately $363 million by boosting jobs and infrastructure (Penn). Additionally, the project is aligned with the Biden administration’s Justice40 initiative to provide federal investment benefits to over-polluted, marginalized, and underinvested communities. Located in a community in which residents pay higher electricity costs than 97% of the rest of the American population, a reopening of Palisades will help to not only lower these costs but also provide additional jobs for residents (“LPO”).  

The Costs 

On the other hand, the proposed plan to restart Palisades does run into some issues, mainly economic ones. As mentioned with the Vogtle plant, large-scale nuclear projects have a tendency to run over- budget and past deadlines, meaning that the government and other stakeholders could be spending billions on a project that won’t provide a return on investment for the next few years. Additionally, concern is raised over the fact that the original reason for shutdown was the low profit of operation. Of course, technology and management has improved, but what’s to say definitively that this plant will become profitable in the long run?  

Along these lines, critics also point out the high cost of nuclear compared to renewables like wind and solar. Estimates put nuclear energy between 2.3 and 7.4 times as expensive as a wind and solar grid (Rapoport). If this is the case, then the proposed benefits to electricity costs in the region might not be realized, creating further strain on nearby communities.  

What Does it Mean?  

For now, the investments and plan to restart the Palisades plant are proceeding. Since both proponents and opponents of the restart cite the projected economics of operation, only time will tell who is right. Whatever the outcome of the Palisades restart, it will set a precedent for many of the shut-down reactors around the country. If successful, thousands of megawatts of clean energy could be used once again for the American people. But if budgets and timeline overruns once again become a problem, this process could be a large nail in the coffin for mega-scale nuclear energy, shifting the industry towards less capital-intensive projects like micro- and small modular reactors.  

 

 

Sources:  

Penn, Ivan. “Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan Plans to Reopen With $1.5 Billion Loan.” The New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024, https://www.nytimes.com. 

“LPO Announces Conditional Commitment to Holtec Palisades to Finance the Restoration and Resumption of Service of 800-MW Nuclear Generating Station.” Department of Energy, 27 Mar. 2024, https://www.energy.gov. 

Rapoport, Rodger. “The Government is Spending Billions to Restart Michigan’s Palisades Reactor. Why?” Detroit Free Press, 16 Apr. 2024, https://www.freep.com.