Does America make anything anymore? The answer is obvious. We make social justice hashtags and hire political consultants to come up with them.
Gas and food prices are obviously up for a variety of reasons, including runaway inflation, but also the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Uranium prices are also up. A lot.
Uranium prices have gained as much as 40% since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, touching levels the market hasn’t seen in more than a decade, even though the war has had little immediate impact on global supplies of the fuel used to generate nuclear energy.
Does that affect us? Unfortunately yes.
Unlike Europe, the U.S. is not dependent on Russian oil or natural gas, says John Ciampaglia, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, but it is “partially dependent” on enriched uranium from Russia. U.S. utilities rely on Russia for 16% of their enriched uranium supply, while Europe relies on Russia for 20%, he says.
“Any disruption in this supply caused by sanctions imposed by the West, self-sanctions adopted by utilities, or Russia deciding to ban the export of enriched uranium, further exacerbates the structural supply deficit that already exists in the market,” says Ciampaglia.
We get about a fifth of our uranium from Canada, and about half from Russia and countries in its sphere of influence like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
America used to mine our own uranium but then in the nineties, the glorious period when we decided to outsource our entire economy to our enemies, our domestic production went away.
And so we actually depend on Russian uranium. Who won the Cold War again?
mortimer says
Daniel Greenfield raises a brilliant question: “Does America make anything anymore?” He answers it tragically and correctly. The American traitor class has decided that gender pronouns and Shangri-La fantasies are more real than the need for RELIABLE SOURCES of energy. The Dems prefer to buy energy from HOSTILE DICTATORS rather than from friendly Canada which has the largest reserves of oil and gas in North America and a huge uranium cache buried in the Canadian Shield formation.
The Dems are preposterous traitors of whom 60% say they would refuse to fight to defend their country..
The Dems are the globalist TRAITOR political party of the US. The are AINO’s (AMERICANS IN NAME ONLY)
mortimer says
Message for the Shangri-La FANTASISTS in the Dem Party:
There is NO ENERGY as DANGEROUS as NO energy.
Keys says
“There is NO ENERGY as DANGEROUS as NO energy.”
Enlightenment !
Westman says
True, Mortimer.
Modern society is built and sustained on cheap energy. It cannot be sustained by ideologues, their inflated ideas, or, the inflation they are now causing.
gravenimage says
Good exchange.
somehistory says
Americans don’t make anything much any longer. Buy anything and it will probably have a label reading, “made in china” or pakistan or indonesia or bangladesh …if we shop well, it may be from south america.
And those are the things over which the average person…not the government or lobbyists, siblings or offspring of those in congress or the wh, or the state dept, or *advisors* ..have a small measure of control.
The *government*…loose term in these times…of the U.S. is out of control, …in what it can influence other nations to do, and spending in order to give funds to those same nations; except for the control it has assumed over the daily lives of its citizens. That control is out of control, too.
john smith says
I can’t remember the last time when I saw an item with made in the USA on it. Coming to think of it, it must of been when I was a kid.
somehistory says
I saw something a few days ago, but for the life of me, I can’t recall what it was. The things that do, have a little U.S. flag. imprinted somewhere on the label Oh, and there is a company in Colorado that makes go-bags.
But, it is getting more difficult to find anything. Oranges and strawberries are grown in Florida, but unless the label on orange juice says it’s “pure Florida,” it might be from brazil, mexico, argentina or chili, and sold in Florida.
gravenimage says
It’s very common to find fresh fruit “out of season” grown in Mexico or South America. I consider this less of an issue than manufactured goods, both because of their provenance (at least semi-democratic nations) and because we can do without out of season fruit and vegetables if need be.
somehistory says
out of season, but not if they just don’t want to send it due to the fools in government offending them and making them angry.
And, it isn’t just “out of season” with oranges and strawberries. If you look at the labels during Florida growing season, you can still see Mexico for strawberries as the source. And that is just one example.
Frank Anderson says
Jimmy Carter, who could not pronounce correctly the word “nuclear” stopped the Clinch River Breeder Reactor project in a vain attempt to discourage bomb proliferation. The excuse was that breeder reactors convert non-fissionable U-238 into fissionable Plutonium 239 which is both reactor and bomb fuel. The rest of the world reprocesses spent fuel. But Carter stopped reprocessing fuel in the US. For that reason, there are thousands of tons of spent fuel in the US that could be reprocessed, and about 95 percent of that fuel could be re-cycled into usable fuel. That would also reduce the volume and life of radioactive waste to be handled. For every reactor where the spent fuel is reprocessed, about 2 cubic meters of high-level waste is produced with much shorter radioactive life than the untreated spent fuel has. If the US reprocessed spent fuel, it would have little or no need to purchase Uranium anywhere outside its own border. This is a self-inflicted wound, like many others originating with the current administration.
Westman says
And most of that spent uranium is in the form of rods in cooling pools and have been there for decades because nobody wants the storage in their back yard.
The only real solution is reprocessing which can capture the new U239 and enrich the U235.
I majored in Physics and at the time was against reactors for the very reason that we had no plan or policy for disposal of radioactive waste. It is now clear that we may never have reliable “green” energy from wind and solar and also the waste batteries from all electric cars, industry and home energy storage will absolutely swamp the amount of radioactive wastes. Now that there are safer reactor designs, I’m all for new reactors to be built which can source the existing electric grid, replace coal plants, and expand available energy. I’m also for all the fossil energy production necessary until we have real alternates.
By the way there are still closed uranium mines in the Western US that can produce if new ore is needed.
However, years are required to ramp up nuclear fuel production and build reactors. Till then the World needs fossil fuels. The course taken by the Biden administration, without regard to the feedback effects, is economic suicide. Inflation will ultimately kill the housing market and the fledgling electric car industry. Sudden change dislocates the economy.
Only irrational ideologues would force such an unwise energy policy as has now happened. It is the equivalent of a government economic sanction upon its own US citizens.
James Lincoln says
Excellent post, Westman. My compliments.
gravenimage says
Important points, Frank and Westman.
I am *no* fan of Jimmy Carter, but pronouncing “nuclear” as “nu-ki-loor” seems to be a regional thing, not a sign of ignorance per se. Others who used this pronunciation include Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter (as you note), and George W. Bush–and these are just presidents. Many others both in politics and elsewhere use this pronunciation.
I have to admit I personally find this pronunciation grating, but it is not necessarly a sign of either ignorance or evil intent.
Frank Anderson says
GI, one particular professor who taught the course in Materials Science, a PhD in Chemical Engineering, railed against people who pronounce “nu cle ar” as “nu que lar” for being ignorant, half educated and unskilled in the English language. I attended that course in 1970 and continue to follow his teaching. How many years must pass before the correct pronunciation takes hold?
gravenimage says
Frank, as I noted this appears to be a regional pronunciation more than it being wrong per se.
Here’s the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary:
Though disapproved of by many, pronunciations ending in \-kyə-lər\ have been found in widespread use among educated speakers, including scientists, lawyers, professors, congressmen, United States cabinet members, and at least two United States presidents and one vice president. While most common in the United States, these pronunciations have also been heard from British and Canadian speakers.
The American Heritage Dictionary:
The pronunciation (noo’kyə-lər), which is generally considered incorrect, is an example of how a familiar phonological pattern can influence an unfamiliar one … [since] much more common is the similar sequence (-kyə-lər), which occurs in words like particular, circular, spectacular, and in many scientific words like molecular, ocular, and vascular.
Oxford English Dictionary:
The colloquial pronunciation British /ˈnjuːkjʊlə/, U.S. /ˈn(j)ukjələr/ (frequently rendered in written form as nucular[…]) has been criticized in usage guides since at least the mid 20th century […] although it is now commonly given as a variant in modern dictionaries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucular
As I noted, it grates on me, as well–but I’m more concerned with the ethical stance people take than their specific pronunciation of this word.
Frank Anderson says
GI, much like the extended argument of whether light is a wave or particle, or islam is a protected religion or unprotected criminal conspiracy, the issue of the correct pronunciation of the word NEW CLE ARE will go on until “the cows come home”. My respect and admiration for the professor who taught me well in the one course continues more than 50 years after, and will probably last as long as I live. Carter is not alone in being ignorant, un-washed and miserably un-equipped to make decisions for others. That will not change for him or others. That may be where the Prayer for Serenity should come into play, so that I (we?) can accept things we cannot change, and find the “wisdom to know the difference.” But it still irritates me that this crude person and people like him have any influence on important decisions. Sincere best wishes to you always. Frank
somehistory says
To intrude on your conversation, I’m just glad you can’t hear me speak. When I was a child, everyone I heard ever say that awful word, said it like carter, bush, and others mentioned.
I usually say it the way you two evidently do, but sometimes, I digress and say it as I heard it when we were told to hide under our desks if there was a nuclear…nuke u lar..attack on us. They are referred to “nukes” after all.
And my son laughs at the way I pronounce embroidery. Glad you can’t hear me say it the way my mother said it…that’s where I learned to talk…listening to my parents and they were *smart* but never attended college.
Y’all have a nice evenin’.
Frank Anderson says
S.H., I have friends in my life who range from barely able to read and write to multiple PhD’s. NONE, including myself, are perfect. I would probably nibble at one who did not pronounce the word as it should be; but would never embarrass or lose a friend over such an issue. The word is nuclear, not nucular. The loss of language that is being tolerated today leads us to a re-enactment of the Tower of Babel story.
And based on the wisdom of the Superintendent of the military school I attended for 12 years, you are always welcome to add your thoughts. “A wise man harkeneth to counsel. A fool in his own eyes is always right.” Col. T.C.H.
gravenimage says
OK, Frank. I’m not going to make a case for this pronunciation of this word, which I am not a fan of, either.
somehistory says
Frank,
I spelled it as my teachers pronounced it, as people on television pronounced it.
And, the Tower of Babel was being built in defiance of Gpd, so He changed the languages…*confusing* …them, so that the people would no longer be able to communicate and to finish the tower He didn’t want them to. He wanted them to move about the earth, not stay in one place and set up in opposition to Him.
If He confused the languages again, it would have to be a good thing, because He doe not do anything that is not good.
Frank Anderson says
S.H., I predict we could have some absolutely fabulous and extended conversations about our religious thoughts and experience. Much like the “at the moment” primary subject of discussion, “religion vel non”, the correct pronunciation of the word nuclear has essentially no importance in the decisions made about nuclear energy. I have earned an ME degree, with some really good grades and good understanding, and worked for companies dealing with 6 nuclear units, 4 operating, 1 cancelled and 1 being decommissioned. As long as fools stay away from control wires with candles (Brown’s Ferry) and don’t play with the reactors (Chernobyl) and don’t put the emergency generator in a hole where it floods (Fukushima), the plants are safe. But that does not change the FACT they are outrageously expensive, somewhere in the order of 2 to 3 times coal and natural gas, depending on the “carbon capture” devices added.
The nuclear plants also have a fixed, short life and no plan to extend that life by replacing the single component that renders them dangerous over time, the reactor vessel which becomes dangerously hard with age and use. Nuclear plants have 2 advantages over wind and solar, they run much more hours during the year regardless of climate and time of day, and they are about 3 times cheaper.
But there is never a free lunch with any choice, especially including coal, which can tie a utility to captive shipper rail rates and create mountains of sludge and dangerous ashes that remain poisonous forever, and gas which has its own problems.
I cannot see, after what is now 14 years of reading and conversation why islam was created. I can see why it needs to be changed so fundamentally that the change amounts to destruction in order to have the kind of peace and tolerance I imagine God wants for His Children. It may take a lot of effort to see my view that we are all God’s Children IF we recognize it and choose to be. As we hope for our children, we imagine that God wants good for us. Having been a dead slab of meat on an operating table for about 2 hours, I have seen enough to hope what I do about God and His plan for me. When I wrote and conducted my adopted mother’s funeral, the major conclusion offered is that there are just some things in life that we are not given to understand. Peace be with you, however you pronounce nuclear! Frank
somehistory says
Frank,
I agree that for the “change” that needs to be, a lot of destruction will have to happen.
There is a verse in the Bible that says, “Every wall will fall.” What God destroys, can only be undone by Him, but what man destroys, can be brought back by God if He chooses to do so.
There is another verse that tells us that God will see that no memory of these evil times with the sorrow, death, etc. “will come to mind.” He will make everything right for those who choose to serve Him, and like obedient children do with their good fathers, God’s children do so out of love for Him.
I really don’t care how the word nuclear is pronounced. As you say, the importance is on the use of it and how destructive it is.
I look forward to the day when our Heavenly Father, “Makes all things new.” He has promised to do that.
Frank Anderson says
S.H., on this we agree. Amen.
Hank says
“For that reason, there are thousands of tons of spent fuel in the US that could be reprocessed, and about 95 percent of that fuel could be re-cycled into usable fuel.”
+10
Walter Sieruk says
That treacherous traitorous fool Joe Biden should be arrested for treason. As one person ,rightly , replied to my essay posting about in Newsmax about how terrible and traitorous Biden actually is . That patriot justly answered about this horrible old man that “He is a gift to our enemies” and a disaster for our Allies.”
nicholas tesdorf says
Australia has around one third of the world’s uranium resources, and is the world’s third ranking producer, accounting for approximately 10 per cent of annual global production.
Why is the USA buying the stuff from Russia now?
gravenimage says
Good question–also, Canada is the #2 global producer. Russia proper is #6.
gravenimage says
U.S. Dependent on Russian Uranium, Prices Up 40%
…………….
Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, I have long said that our dependence on *any* other nations, but especially nations that are “frenemies” at best like Russia and China is a bad idea, potentially suicidal.
Canada has some of the highest uranium reserves in the world–and we are no slouches ourselves. But you have to actually mine the stuff. Uranium mining has been shut down in the US since 2002.
Wellington says
Time way overdue for America to make the vast necessities of life (and even many of its luxuries) right here in America. Bring it back to where it was 50 or 60 years ago and no more shipping out to a rogue state like China what America needs
On a personal note, I have this to say—eff China. The more America and all the West is not dependent on China the better. Go screw yourself, China.
Frank Anderson says
+1 x as many as you can imagine!
Westman says
I’m afraid our largest US corporations are too corrupt to want any manufacturing, that can be outsourced, to survive in the US.
The problem: “Maximizing returns to shareholders without regard to its negative effects on citizens and national security”
Even Bill Clinton pointed this out when President, yet the, “in their pocket”, Congress has done nothing to stop the race to the bottom. Until something is done to change corporate objectives they will continue to find the cheapest or slave labor in the world and act as if they owe nothing to the US citizens whose money they take.
gravenimage says
I agree with Frank–spot on, Wellington!
Infidel says
Didn’t we sell all American Uranium to Russia under the Clinton Uranium-One deal? At any rate, are any of our nuclear power plants still active that we’re worrying about this? Honestly, one of the things we should do under the next GOP administration is build 4th generation nuclear power plants in red states, and have that power the country. That, and also mine for rare-earths, so that one of the major excuses for the Climate Change Communists is taken away from them
TIREDODSTUPID says
I think Hillary sold russia 20% of our Uranium when she was sec of state.
OLD GUY says
Do they ever talk about the environment when it comes to shipping billions of tons of goods across the oceans of the world. Maybe thats because some vary wealth powerful people own the shipping companies. How can moving oil from Saudi Arabia to Texas be cheaper and use less fossil fuel than the pipeline from Canada? COME ON MAN, it’s about WHO makes the MONEY! The guy with all the tanker ships doesn’t want a pipeline it will mean those polluting ships will no longer be needed. And those tankers burn dirty oil. Same is true for all those container ships, buy American and save the environment.