Robert E. Paulson
April 11, 2009
The following thoughts on the issue of illegal immigration were first written in December, 2007. Nothing has changed since then. The issue was never raised during the campaign and, as of April 10, 2009. has not been mentioned by Congress or President Obama. All the following ideas and proposals remain valid today.
In addition, I do not believe the country can effectively deal with the proposal for a national health care program before resolving the illegal immigrant program. The numbers are said to be 37 million Americans without health insurance and from 12-20 million illegal immigrants who obviously also are without health insurance of any kind. So, as the following discussion points out, there are up to 57 million people in the USA who must pay cash for doctor visits and/or rely on emergency room health care and pay nominal amounts for such services while the insured population pays exorbitant rates and are charged exorbitant prices to make up for the nominal payments received from the uninsured population.
It would seem any national health insurance program must be tied to the SS # --the proposed IEI SS # would include the approximately 20 million illegal immigrants who would also contribute to the costs of national health insurance.
No Presidential candidate has put forth a comprehensive position paper on the issues /problems relating to illegal immigrants. The recent 2007 proposal in New York to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is just the "tip of the iceberg" regarding the much larger question of how local authorities are to deal with illegal immigrants in the absence of federal enforcement of federal laws against this huge population.
Today, with few exceptions, there is, in effect, a "don't ask, don't tell" federal policy concerning illegal immigrants. As a result, there exists the following inconsistent practices and anomalies at both the local and national levels:
1) city and state police make no attempt to determine citizenship status of obvious groups of immigrants, such as day workers gathered on street corners, construction sites, landscapers, restaurant workers, farm and factory workers, etc. ;
2) landlords renting to foreign language speaking tenants without any citizenship reporting responsibility;
3) national banks taking deposits of cash and issuing debit cards without citizenship proof and no reporting requirements to the IRS or federal immigration authorities;
4) hospital emergency rooms providing medical care free or at nominal cost without citizenship proof or any reporting requirement to federal immigration;
5) the use of fake social security numbers (which acts to the detriment of the illegal immigrant since monies are paid in by the employer but benefits are never paid out);
6) businesses wiring money out of the country without determination of the legal status of the person providing the cash or any reporting to any federal authority.
These few anecdotal examples evidence the continued erosion of any distinction between legal and illegal immigrants or, for that matter, between illegal immigrants and American citizens. The near-absolute failure of the Government to actively enforce existing federal laws against illegal immigrants also raises a significant security issue regarding terrorist cells --local, state and federal authorities have no idea who is living "under the radar" in this country --the estimates range from 12-20 million.
What to do with this "underground economy" and national security risk? How long can this growing illegal population be ignored or debated without resolution? Is it realistic to think these millions of illegals can be rounded up and deported and, if so, who is going to take care of their millions of children who remain American citizens by virtue of their birth in this country? In fact, the overwhelming majority of these illegals are gainfully employed and actually ARE NEEDED to support our growing economy in the face of dwindling numbers of native-born Americans entering the workforce (as in Europe and China, whether or not enforced by Government edit, the fact is that low birth rates in both the "Western world" and China have resulted in shortages of workers in those economies).
One cannot answer the question regarding driver's licenses for illegal immigrants, or implementing national health insurance, without answering all the other questions posed by this population and resolving the inconsistent practices across the country regarding these immigrants.
A NEW FEDERAL POLICY /LEGISLATION DIRECTED TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS (INCLUDING EXPIRED VISA ENTRANTS) MUST INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING POINTS:
1) A TIGHT, NEAR-PERFECT PHYSICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL BARRIER FOR BORDER CONTROL BACKED UP WITH HEAVY BORDER ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL;
2) ALL ILLEGAL ENTRY IMMIGRANTS (INCLUDING IMMIGRANTS WITH EXPIRED VISAS) ARE GIVEN A PERIOD OF TIME CERTAIN, BETWEEN 9 AND 15 MONTHS, TO "TURN THEMSELVES IN" BY APPLYING FOR A SPECIAL SOCIAL SECURITY CARD NUMBER BEGINNING WITH THE LETTERS "IEI" (ILLEGAL ENTRY IMMIGRANT). THE DATE OF ISSUANCE OF THE IEI S.S. # PLACES THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BEHIND THE LAST PERSON APPLYING LEGALLY FOR ENTRANCE TO THE U.S. FROM THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF THE ILLEGAL ENTRANT;
3) THE IEI S.S. # APPLICATION SHOULD INCLUDE AT LEAST NAME, PASSPORT-STYLE PHOTOGRAPH, CURRENT ADDRESS, TELEPHONE AND CELL PHONE NUMBERS, EMAIL ADDRESS, LAST ADDRESS IN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, ADDRESSES OF NEAREST RELATIVE IN U.S. AND IN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN , NAME AND ADDRESS OF CURRENT EMPLOYER AND NAME OF PERSONNEL OFFICER IF EMPLOYER IS OTHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL;
4) APPLICATION FORMS SHOULD BE PROVIDED IN ALL POST OFFICES, POLICE PRECINCTS, BANKS, BUILDING LOBBIES, SCHOOLS, ETC. THE VARIOUS DMV OFFICES THROUGHOUT THE VARIOUS STATES
ALSO COULD SUPPLY THE IEI SS # APPLICATIONS AND WOULD BE CONVENIENT FOR SUPPLYING THE NECESSARY PHOTO. THE APPLICATION FORM ALSO WOULD BE AVAILABLE ONLINE FOR DOWNLOADING.
5) THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY ALREADY HAS IN PLACE A PILOT PROGRAM FOR CHECKING SS ## ELECTRONICALLY. IT WOULD BE A SIMPLE MATTER TO INCLUDE THE IEI SS ## IN THIS SYSTEM., CALLED "E-VERIFY."
6) FOLLOWING EXPIRATION OF THE IEI GRACE PERIOD, ALL EMPLOYERS MUST OBTAIN THE S.S. # OR AN IEI S.S. # FOR ALL EMPLOYEES OR FACE A MANDATORY FINE OF $10,000 FOR EACH EMPLOYEE NOT SO DOCUMENTED, THEREBY ENSURING WITHHOLDING OF TAXES AND PAYMENTS FOR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS AND NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE;
7) FOLLOWING EXPIRATION OF THE IEI GRACE PERIOD, NO NEW ILLEGAL ENTRANT WILL BE PERMITTED TO APPLY FOR THE IEI S.S. CARD BUT, INSTEAD, SHALL BE IMMEDIATELY DEPORTED;
8) FOLLOWING EXPIRATION OF THE IEI GRACE PERIOD, ALL LANDLORDS MUST OBTAIN THE S.S. # OR IEI S.S. # OF ALL TENANTS OR FACE A MANDATORY FINE OF $10,000 FOR EACH HOH (Head of Household )TENANT NOT SO DOCUMENTED;
9) FOLLOWING EXPIRATION OF THE IEI GRACE PERIOD, CITY AND STATE OFFICIALS SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATION TO SEEK IDENTIFICATION AND, SPECIFICALLY, THE S.S. # OR IEI S.S. # OF ANY PERSON SEEN LOITERING, INVOLVED IN ANY INFRACTION OF LAW, CRIMINAL ACTIVITY OR REASONABLE SUSPICION OF SAME, AND ANY PERSON UNABLE TO PROPERLY DOCUMENT HIS OR HER ENTRANCE INTO THIS COUNTRY SHALL BE REPORTED TO FEDERAL IMMIGRANTION AUTHORITIES FOR DEPORTATION;
10) ANY IEI CONVICTED OF A CRIME MORE SERIOUS THAN A MISDEMEANOR SHALL BE IMMEDIATELY DEPORTED, WITH CANCELLATION OF THE IEI NUMBER AND NO ELGIBILITY TO REAPPLY;
11) THE IEI S.S. # MUST BE RENEWED EVERY 3 YEARS (5 YEARS?) UPDATING ALL ORIGINAL INFORMATION, INCLUDING CURRENT PHOTOGRAPH, AND IDENTIFYING THE CURRENT EMPLOYER AND ANY PREVIOUS EMPLOYERS, WITH PROOF OF ALL TAX RETURNS FILED OR REASON IF NOT FILED;
12) UPON COMPLIANCE WITH ALL RULES GOVERNING IEI STATUS FOR A TOTAL OF 15 YEARS, THE IEI IMMIGRANT SHALL BE ELGIBILE TO APPLY FOR GREEN CARD STATUS, PROVIDED NO PERSON FROM THE IEI'S COUNTRY OF ORIGIN APPLYING LEGALLY FOR ENTRY AHEAD OF THE IEI IS WAITING FOR DISPOSITION OF SUCH APPLICAT ION. THEREAFTER, APPLICATION FOR CITIZENSHIP SHALL FOLLOW CURRENT PROCEDURES FOLLOWING ISSUANCE OF GREEN CARD;
13) IN THE EVENT ANY IEI LEAVES THE COUNTRY WITHOUT COMPLETING THE FOREGOING PATH TO CITIZENSHIP, SUCH PERSON SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE WHATEVER BENEFITS WOULD HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE FOR THE PERIOD OF TIME WORKED IN THE U.S. HAD THAT PERSON REMAINED IN THE COUNTRY.
14) FURTHER FINE-TUNING OF THE IEI SS REGISTRATION SYSTEM MIGHT STRETCH OUT THE RENEWAL DATES TO THE 3RD, 6TH, 10TH AND 15TH YEARS. ALSO, THERE MIGHT BE A POINT SYSTEM TO ENCOURAGE SCHOOLWORK, PROVIDING CREDIT TIME TOWARDS CITIZENSHIP FOR THOSE IEIs WHO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH, OR CERTIFICATES FROM TRADE SCHOOLS, OR OTHER EDUCATIONAL OR SPECIAL TRAINING CREDITS. THE MAXIMUM TIME OFF THE PATH TO CITIZENSHIP BASED ON EDUCATIONAL CREDITS SHOULD BE FIVE YEARS.
The foregoing rules /requirements are intended to encourage registration of the vast majority of illegal immigrants now in the country and to discourage employers and landlords from not rigorously complying with immigration regulations.
Strengthening border controls will significantly reduce the numbers of new illegal immigrants, permitting the Government to get a "handle" on the identity of illegal immigrants now in the country. There is no requirement that illegal immigrants leave the country en masse, since, as a matter of fact, they are needed to fill the gap in the country's dwindling native-born workforce.
These proposed regulations are directed primarily to unskilled immigrants who have entered the country by stealth seeking only to improve their life and those of their families. Skilled and /or educated immigrant applicants, such as scientists, engineers, doctors, nurses, medical and computer technicians, are given immigration priority status and need not resort to illegal entrance. (Inexplicably, the federal immigration service is stringently enforcing immigration laws against this group of skilled workers --so this group comes to our schools, become highly educated and skilled, and then are forced to go home)
With registration of IEI immigrants, and their identity, location and origins known, there no longer should be any reason not to allow this population to receive IEI driver's licenses, if otherwise qualified.
The minimum 20+ year wait for full citizenship, after an unblemished record of compliance with U.S. laws, immigration regulations and payment of taxes, should be ample basis to admit this population as our fellow citizens in a country built on immigrants.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
LETTER written by lucy greenberg a dear friend
To all my friends and family:
I feel both privileged and humbled to be writing to you on behalf of my dear friend, Bob Paulson and this extraordinary book he wrote with the eyes of an advanced ALS "survivor" and the heart of a giant.
My family had the good fortune of meeting Bob, his wife Maureen, and their 3 sons, when their youngest started kindergarten with Ned in 1987. The relationship rapidly transmuted from play date exchanges to one of mutually shared joys, challenges and celebrations. We grew to a gang of 8 parents, all of whom had boys in the class of '00; and that group quickly coalesced as the days rolled into months and years. The Paulson boys are among the kindest, brightest and most musically talented I've had the pleasure to know.
And then there is Bob.
His background as a child in a large family living on and working the land in a small rural Kansas setting was diametrically opposed to the rest of us, who shared a more suburban, NY area childhood. As it turned out, his varied experience served to make him all the more intriguing. Farm boy... part-time musician and actor...nuclear engineer and ultimately intellectual property attorney. We felt almost provincial in comparison!! But it is Bob's music that ultimately set in stone relationships that became the bedrock of our existences.
A highlight of the year was the Paulson Christmas party where he held the room with his piano and his enormously amassed range of songs. We gathered around that piano; we listened, we sang along, and the world was in perfect harmony. When one of their boys joined in with their chosen musical instruments, it was icing on the festively decorated cake! There were Christmas parties going on all over NY; in offices, restaurants, and party spaces, but none were as pure and joyful as those memorable evenings. For one magical night a year, a lot of Jewish NY'ers were transformed into revelers of the first order. And when Bob and Maureen joined our family Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, they sang the loudest and danced the "hora" with gusto!
A most tender and memorable gathering occurred around the Bat Mitzvah celebration, in Israel, of Dani Goldstein. We were beyond fortunate to be included in her Torah readings, with The Dead Sea as the background, in a 10 day journey as V.I.P. tourists in that most beautiful and remarkable country. Bob was just beginning to show some muscle weakness in his legs preventing him from the archaeological digs and trip to Masada, but he soldiered on whenever possible. No one could have imagined what was to come. In hindsight, it feels as though that trip and the months that followed were, unbeknownst to us; a seminal moment in our glory days.
Bob was soon diagnosed with ALS and the insidious disease took hold with no mercy. As his conditioned worsened, it became necessary for Maureen and Jake (the older 2 boys already away at school) to help in every aspect of his life. They accompanied him to work, wheelchair in tow, for years; until work was no longer viable .Maureen, to this day, gives Bob his very life; she is a woman beyond compare. From the smallest trivial tasks of grooming and eating, to his continued socializing in restaurants and theatres, their days are long and arduous, but never does one hear a complaint. Never. And we are so blessed by their determination, to continue, for lo these many years, an unbroken chain of social intimacy.
We've lost our Christmas extravaganza but life has gone on as we have all adjusted to Bob's increasing limitations. This man's mental and physical endurance are unmatched. Bob considers himself blessed by family and friends and the circuitous twists and turns of a life well lived. For the rest of us comes the greatest blessing of all. He, along with his family's resolve, has inspired us in ways we could never have imagined.
I now reach out to you, my friends and family, to get to know the man and his story in a book you are unlikely to read the equal of. Much of the proceeds of "Not In Kansas Anymore" will go toward the enormous expenses involved in keeping Bob at home, a decision that some may have questioned but all have come to regard with admiration and validation. I urge you to partake of this book so that you can come to know this man among men that we have been privileged to.
I feel both privileged and humbled to be writing to you on behalf of my dear friend, Bob Paulson and this extraordinary book he wrote with the eyes of an advanced ALS "survivor" and the heart of a giant.
My family had the good fortune of meeting Bob, his wife Maureen, and their 3 sons, when their youngest started kindergarten with Ned in 1987. The relationship rapidly transmuted from play date exchanges to one of mutually shared joys, challenges and celebrations. We grew to a gang of 8 parents, all of whom had boys in the class of '00; and that group quickly coalesced as the days rolled into months and years. The Paulson boys are among the kindest, brightest and most musically talented I've had the pleasure to know.
And then there is Bob.
His background as a child in a large family living on and working the land in a small rural Kansas setting was diametrically opposed to the rest of us, who shared a more suburban, NY area childhood. As it turned out, his varied experience served to make him all the more intriguing. Farm boy... part-time musician and actor...nuclear engineer and ultimately intellectual property attorney. We felt almost provincial in comparison!! But it is Bob's music that ultimately set in stone relationships that became the bedrock of our existences.
A highlight of the year was the Paulson Christmas party where he held the room with his piano and his enormously amassed range of songs. We gathered around that piano; we listened, we sang along, and the world was in perfect harmony. When one of their boys joined in with their chosen musical instruments, it was icing on the festively decorated cake! There were Christmas parties going on all over NY; in offices, restaurants, and party spaces, but none were as pure and joyful as those memorable evenings. For one magical night a year, a lot of Jewish NY'ers were transformed into revelers of the first order. And when Bob and Maureen joined our family Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, they sang the loudest and danced the "hora" with gusto!
A most tender and memorable gathering occurred around the Bat Mitzvah celebration, in Israel, of Dani Goldstein. We were beyond fortunate to be included in her Torah readings, with The Dead Sea as the background, in a 10 day journey as V.I.P. tourists in that most beautiful and remarkable country. Bob was just beginning to show some muscle weakness in his legs preventing him from the archaeological digs and trip to Masada, but he soldiered on whenever possible. No one could have imagined what was to come. In hindsight, it feels as though that trip and the months that followed were, unbeknownst to us; a seminal moment in our glory days.
Bob was soon diagnosed with ALS and the insidious disease took hold with no mercy. As his conditioned worsened, it became necessary for Maureen and Jake (the older 2 boys already away at school) to help in every aspect of his life. They accompanied him to work, wheelchair in tow, for years; until work was no longer viable .Maureen, to this day, gives Bob his very life; she is a woman beyond compare. From the smallest trivial tasks of grooming and eating, to his continued socializing in restaurants and theatres, their days are long and arduous, but never does one hear a complaint. Never. And we are so blessed by their determination, to continue, for lo these many years, an unbroken chain of social intimacy.
We've lost our Christmas extravaganza but life has gone on as we have all adjusted to Bob's increasing limitations. This man's mental and physical endurance are unmatched. Bob considers himself blessed by family and friends and the circuitous twists and turns of a life well lived. For the rest of us comes the greatest blessing of all. He, along with his family's resolve, has inspired us in ways we could never have imagined.
I now reach out to you, my friends and family, to get to know the man and his story in a book you are unlikely to read the equal of. Much of the proceeds of "Not In Kansas Anymore" will go toward the enormous expenses involved in keeping Bob at home, a decision that some may have questioned but all have come to regard with admiration and validation. I urge you to partake of this book so that you can come to know this man among men that we have been privileged to.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
IMMIGRATION And EDUCATION
Maureen, The Times ran an article this weekend on the problems of educating immigrant kids with no English, and that separate classes teaching immigrant kids in their native languages ( "a school within a school") are counterproductive, since the immigrants are isolated from homegrown kids and feel that much more stigmatized by their culture, dress, ethnicity, etc.
I have a solution. The details would need to be worked out for individual situations.
I propose adding a half hour -45 minute period each school day for a workshop strictly on English that would be operated by the older kids, preferably one-on-one. The older kids would be either homegrown kids or other immigrants who have become reasonably proficient in basic English. In general, 6 graders would work with first graders; 7 graders with 2nd graders etc to 12th graders working with 6th graders. The work sessions would be simple --merely going over the day's work covered by the teacher that day.
I have found that each child masters a particular task in his or her own way, learning memory shortcuts or techniques for learning that often come from a different perspective than the adult teacher. Secondly, for the younger student, merely trying to explain to the older student what the day's lesson covered would be a reinforcing learning step. Thus, each work session would start with the question: "Okay, what did you guys go over today?" "Okay.show me your workbook and what you did, or show me the pages in the text you were assigned.' The conversation will flow from this point on, and shortly will extend to sports, TV shows, favorite music, family, chores at home, etc. All of this is good --the young will ask, "how do you say . . . ." and the older will say, "No, this is how you say , . . . or, this is how you write . . "
The work sessions will be productive even if nothing academic is accomplished --they will inevitably create a form of bonding between the students , if nothing elseUsing older, largely home-grown students to tutor/mentor young immigrant children will, inevitably, ease the social -ethnic-cultural barriers, no matter what else is accomplished by the conversation between the two students. Surely, however, the young students' grasp of English undoubtedly will be improved.
Without question, the better one's grasp of English in America, the better the potential for an improved level of employment and living standard. In my experience, no matter the level of intelligence, without an immersion in the English language and its grammatical rules at an early age, a foreign-born person will never be able to write or speak English effectively. The program I propose will inevitably close this gap in English usage between foreign-born and American-born children.
Establishing my proposed "one-on-one" student program will likely require some incentive for the older student. That incentive may vary from one student body to another. It could range from an outright payment of money from the school budget (comparable to babysitting pay); college or vocational school tuition credit at any in-state post-high school educational program --perhaps at the rate $1000-1500 /year up to a total of $ 6000-9000 for the hypothetical six years a student could partake in the program (i.e.,from grade 6 through grade 12); special recognition at junior high and high school graduation ceremonies, or at sports performance recognition events; college credits in basic English course(es); etc.
The one-on-one sessions could be instituted at each school on a trial basis, perhaps scheduled only twice a week, and then evaluated after a month or two to determine the respective students' views. Or, the sessions could be twice a week for grades 1-3 and three times a week for grades 4-6.
Another possible option would be start the program much later, beginning with the seventh grade --i.e., 10 graders on 7th grade, 11 on 8 and 12 on 9th graders. However,this may be too late from the standpoint of both assimilation and gaining an early foundation in basic English. The premise of my one-on-one program is that the foreign-born student will have enough foundation in English by the end of the sixth grade to move forward on his or her own. Also, i believe the youger the better with regard to both a willingness on the part of both students to cooperate in the learning process and also with regard to a less likehood of an ingrained prejudice by either child against the other.
Bob Paulson
525 East 86th Street
New York, New York 10028
bobpaulson@rcn.com
I have a solution. The details would need to be worked out for individual situations.
I propose adding a half hour -45 minute period each school day for a workshop strictly on English that would be operated by the older kids, preferably one-on-one. The older kids would be either homegrown kids or other immigrants who have become reasonably proficient in basic English. In general, 6 graders would work with first graders; 7 graders with 2nd graders etc to 12th graders working with 6th graders. The work sessions would be simple --merely going over the day's work covered by the teacher that day.
I have found that each child masters a particular task in his or her own way, learning memory shortcuts or techniques for learning that often come from a different perspective than the adult teacher. Secondly, for the younger student, merely trying to explain to the older student what the day's lesson covered would be a reinforcing learning step. Thus, each work session would start with the question: "Okay, what did you guys go over today?" "Okay.show me your workbook and what you did, or show me the pages in the text you were assigned.' The conversation will flow from this point on, and shortly will extend to sports, TV shows, favorite music, family, chores at home, etc. All of this is good --the young will ask, "how do you say . . . ." and the older will say, "No, this is how you say , . . . or, this is how you write . . "
The work sessions will be productive even if nothing academic is accomplished --they will inevitably create a form of bonding between the students , if nothing elseUsing older, largely home-grown students to tutor/mentor young immigrant children will, inevitably, ease the social -ethnic-cultural barriers, no matter what else is accomplished by the conversation between the two students. Surely, however, the young students' grasp of English undoubtedly will be improved.
Without question, the better one's grasp of English in America, the better the potential for an improved level of employment and living standard. In my experience, no matter the level of intelligence, without an immersion in the English language and its grammatical rules at an early age, a foreign-born person will never be able to write or speak English effectively. The program I propose will inevitably close this gap in English usage between foreign-born and American-born children.
Establishing my proposed "one-on-one" student program will likely require some incentive for the older student. That incentive may vary from one student body to another. It could range from an outright payment of money from the school budget (comparable to babysitting pay); college or vocational school tuition credit at any in-state post-high school educational program --perhaps at the rate $1000-1500 /year up to a total of $ 6000-9000 for the hypothetical six years a student could partake in the program (i.e.,from grade 6 through grade 12); special recognition at junior high and high school graduation ceremonies, or at sports performance recognition events; college credits in basic English course(es); etc.
The one-on-one sessions could be instituted at each school on a trial basis, perhaps scheduled only twice a week, and then evaluated after a month or two to determine the respective students' views. Or, the sessions could be twice a week for grades 1-3 and three times a week for grades 4-6.
Another possible option would be start the program much later, beginning with the seventh grade --i.e., 10 graders on 7th grade, 11 on 8 and 12 on 9th graders. However,this may be too late from the standpoint of both assimilation and gaining an early foundation in basic English. The premise of my one-on-one program is that the foreign-born student will have enough foundation in English by the end of the sixth grade to move forward on his or her own. Also, i believe the youger the better with regard to both a willingness on the part of both students to cooperate in the learning process and also with regard to a less likehood of an ingrained prejudice by either child against the other.
Bob Paulson
525 East 86th Street
New York, New York 10028
bobpaulson@rcn.com
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Energy Policy for America
The following paper is a proposal submitted by A.E. (Jake) Paulson to Democracy for America (DFA) on February 15, 2009, as a possible energy policy for that organization. It has not been endorsed by the DFA as of this date.
The Paulson energy proposal notes that the problem of what to do with spent-fuel assemblies has been solved by a recently published reprocessing technique that does not produce pure plutonium, and therefore does not violate the ban on nuclear proliferation. This advance will permit reprocessing of the approximately 100,000 spent-fuel assemblies currently sitting under water all around the country. Each of these fuel assemblies contains approximately 30% of the original fuel unused. Reprocessing of current and future fuel assemblies would eliminate the Mt Yucca storage issues.
The beauty of fission energy is its ZERO carbon emission and the ability to run at constant "baseload" capacity, producing electricity for commercial/business needs by day and to charge battery-driven cars at night for urban/suburban travel, also with ZERO carbon emission.
Energy Policy for America
by Democracy for America (DFA)
(updated 2-15-09)
Thesis: The DFA proposes a 10 year energy program that will establish the path to energy independence for the USA.
Proposed Program:
Build 150 1000 Mwe or greater fission powered electrical generation units using current advanced light water reactor technology.
Benefits:
Proposed program will:
Provide for 50% electric power generation from fission power (zero CO2 emissions),
Dramatically reduce CO2 emissions by phasing in fission power and phasing out older coal fueled electrical power units,
Provide for use of electric cars for urban travel,
Provide thousands of high paying jobs, establish the USA as the leader in fission technology, and keep our economy growing at a 3 to 5%/year!
Implementation of Program:
Congress must pass legislation that provides for the
following items:
The program is in the National Interest,
Construction permits, when approved, must be final and unit construction can proceed without interruption,
Government incentives shall be provided to the extent that all major utilities will agree to the program and promise to immediately start the construction permit process (unless they have already done so).
Utilization of Discharged Fuel Assemblies:
Recommended Solution:
Request President Obama to rescind the executive order that bans commercial reprocessing of discharged fuel assemblies in the USA,
Provide legislation that promotes and permits the reprocessing of spent fuel assemblies and provides assurance that the granting of reprocessing licenses is under Federal jurisdiction,
Note: The 100,000 plus discharged fuel assemblies have enough fissionable isotopes to provide the initial reactor core fueling for all 150 units if only we would reprocess and recycle this energy source!
Building three to four reprocessing plants that use the COEX processs. COEX provides for Uranium-Plutonium mix that is turned into MOX fuel for use in LWRs. COEX meets the nonproliferation requirements of GNEP by not producing pure separated plutonium. Adopting COEX would reduce or eliminate the need for the Mt. Yucca storage unit.
Discussion: Democracy for America has a golden opportunity to enhance the expanded use of fission power. It would give America a plan to achieve
Energy Independence in our lifetime – the program will find many Republicans ready to join this program making it a bi-partisan program.
AE Jake Paulson, BSNE KSU 1957
President PIMS, Inc.
434-385-9085
e-mail address = pims@pimsva.com
The Paulson energy proposal notes that the problem of what to do with spent-fuel assemblies has been solved by a recently published reprocessing technique that does not produce pure plutonium, and therefore does not violate the ban on nuclear proliferation. This advance will permit reprocessing of the approximately 100,000 spent-fuel assemblies currently sitting under water all around the country. Each of these fuel assemblies contains approximately 30% of the original fuel unused. Reprocessing of current and future fuel assemblies would eliminate the Mt Yucca storage issues.
The beauty of fission energy is its ZERO carbon emission and the ability to run at constant "baseload" capacity, producing electricity for commercial/business needs by day and to charge battery-driven cars at night for urban/suburban travel, also with ZERO carbon emission.
Energy Policy for America
by Democracy for America (DFA)
(updated 2-15-09)
Thesis: The DFA proposes a 10 year energy program that will establish the path to energy independence for the USA.
Proposed Program:
Build 150 1000 Mwe or greater fission powered electrical generation units using current advanced light water reactor technology.
Benefits:
Proposed program will:
Provide for 50% electric power generation from fission power (zero CO2 emissions),
Dramatically reduce CO2 emissions by phasing in fission power and phasing out older coal fueled electrical power units,
Provide for use of electric cars for urban travel,
Provide thousands of high paying jobs, establish the USA as the leader in fission technology, and keep our economy growing at a 3 to 5%/year!
Implementation of Program:
Congress must pass legislation that provides for the
following items:
The program is in the National Interest,
Construction permits, when approved, must be final and unit construction can proceed without interruption,
Government incentives shall be provided to the extent that all major utilities will agree to the program and promise to immediately start the construction permit process (unless they have already done so).
Utilization of Discharged Fuel Assemblies:
Recommended Solution:
Request President Obama to rescind the executive order that bans commercial reprocessing of discharged fuel assemblies in the USA,
Provide legislation that promotes and permits the reprocessing of spent fuel assemblies and provides assurance that the granting of reprocessing licenses is under Federal jurisdiction,
Note: The 100,000 plus discharged fuel assemblies have enough fissionable isotopes to provide the initial reactor core fueling for all 150 units if only we would reprocess and recycle this energy source!
Building three to four reprocessing plants that use the COEX processs. COEX provides for Uranium-Plutonium mix that is turned into MOX fuel for use in LWRs. COEX meets the nonproliferation requirements of GNEP by not producing pure separated plutonium. Adopting COEX would reduce or eliminate the need for the Mt. Yucca storage unit.
Discussion: Democracy for America has a golden opportunity to enhance the expanded use of fission power. It would give America a plan to achieve
Energy Independence in our lifetime – the program will find many Republicans ready to join this program making it a bi-partisan program.
AE Jake Paulson, BSNE KSU 1957
President PIMS, Inc.
434-385-9085
e-mail address = pims@pimsva.com
Fission Energy vs. Fossil Fuel
Some Salient Background Facts
Re: Fission Energy vs. Fossil Fuel
vs. Alternative Non-CO2 Energy Sources
General Information
1. Today, electricity in the US is produced from the following sources:
· 20% fission energy
· 50% burning coal (fossil fuel)
· 20% burning natural gas (fossil fuel)
· 6.5% hydroelectric
· 0.5% wind and solar power
· 3% burning oil (fossil fuel)
2. Except for wind-driven turbines, solar electricity provided by photovoltaic cells and hydroelectric dams, electricity is generated by creating heat, turning water to steam, which drives giant, magnetized turbines which generate electricity.
3. In the case of a fission reactor, uranium pellets (typically including the radioactive isotope U-235 enriched to a concentration of 3-5%), encased in fuel rods, undergo a controlled chain reaction in the core, releasing energy in the form of heat, which turns pressurized water into pressurized steam, and the steam drives the turbines to generate electricity.
4. All fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burned to create heat; the fission reaction does not.
Fission Energy
1. Today, there are 103 active nuclear reactor power plants in the US – supplying 20% of the nation’s electricity. In addition, there are 337 working reactors producing electricity in 30 countries outside the US. France obtains 78% of its electricity from fission power plants (59). The other leading nuclear powered electricity generating countries are: Japan (55); Russia (31); UK (23); South Korea(20); Canada (18); Ukraine (15); India (15); and China (10).
2. Worldwide, an additional 27 new fission power plants are under construction, another 38 are in the planning stage and another 115 are proposed. Of these plants, it is notable that India proposes 24 new reactor plants, China proposes 19 and South Africa 24.
3. Today, before construction of a nuclear power plant can even begin in the US, three certifications are required from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): a site permit; an approved reactor design; and a construction/operating license. Such an application can involve up to 30,000 pages of drawings, calculations, environmental studies, seismology studies, etc.; the review process alone consumes approximately three years.
4. Safer, less complicated, cheaper designs for fission energy power plants are evolving from Westinghouse, GE, the French-German company Areva, and others. The NRC should approve/standardize 6-10 designs for 1000 Mwe and/or 1500 Mwe (“base load”) output – with the goal of reducing the regulatory process time to 1 year (for previously certified designs); construction time to 5 years and cost to no more than $2-3 Billion, respectively.
5. The main safety features of most reactors are inherent - negative temperature coefficient and negative void coefficient. The first means that beyond an optimal level, as the temperature increases the efficiency of the reaction decreases (this in fact is used to control power levels in some new designs). The second means that if any steam has formed in the cooling water there is a decrease in moderating effect so that fewer neutrons are able to cause fission and the reaction slows down automatically.
6. 18-27 new permits for fission powered electric utility plants are now pending before the NRC – most are near existing reactor sites. If the foregoing goals were adopted (i.e., legislated by Congress), at least 25 new fission power plants should be operating by 2020. An additional 50 new plants should be brought online by 2030 and another 75 new fission reactor plants by 2040. Combined with the current 100+ fission power plants (refurbished and re-licensed), the country realistically could anticipate fission energy providing 50% of its electrical power needs by the year 2040.
7. Between global warming, largely caused by burning fossil fuels, and US dependence on unstable/unfriendly foreign oil supplies (e.g., Mid-East and Venezuela), the economics of fission energy can no longer be treated as an obstacle. If necessary, construction must be subsidized by the federal government – in particular, the construction of the critically needed spent - fuel reprocessing and recycling plants for recovering fission fuel.
Fossil Fuel
1. Today, the US produces carbon dioxide emissions that are 50% greater than that of any other country; these emissions are a major contributor to global warming. In 2002, the US, China, Russia,Japan, India and Germany emitted some 3.9 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon emissions from these countries have continued to rise each year since 2002.
2. If the world is to avoid potentially devastating climate changes, it must stop the current upward trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions within the next 10-20 years.
Alternative Non-Carbon Dioxide Energy
1. Wind, solar and hydrogen fuel cell technologies are not practical/not developed/not proven for large-scale production of electricity in the near-term, i.e., in the next 10-20 years.
2. For example, a recent proposal to build 40 wind-turbine generators off Long Island’s south shore in a grid covering 8 miles, each windmill being 440 feet high (the Washington monument is 550 feet) would produce only enough electricity for 44,000 homes - at a proposed construction cost of $400 Million. By contrast, a 1,000 Mwe fission power reactor produces electric power for 1 million homes at a construction cost of $2-3 Billion.
3. For another example, today, ethanol accounts for 5% of automobile fuel in the US, and yet, to achieve this meager reduction in gasoline usage, the country is already diverting some 25% of its current corn production away from animal and human food consumption. Considering the amount of fossil fuel burned in planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and processing the corn into ethanol, there is little gain, if any, to be realized in the reduction of carbon emissions. Much the same is true for soybean, switch grass or other crop conversions to ethanol.
Re: Fission Energy vs. Fossil Fuel
vs. Alternative Non-CO2 Energy Sources
General Information
1. Today, electricity in the US is produced from the following sources:
· 20% fission energy
· 50% burning coal (fossil fuel)
· 20% burning natural gas (fossil fuel)
· 6.5% hydroelectric
· 0.5% wind and solar power
· 3% burning oil (fossil fuel)
2. Except for wind-driven turbines, solar electricity provided by photovoltaic cells and hydroelectric dams, electricity is generated by creating heat, turning water to steam, which drives giant, magnetized turbines which generate electricity.
3. In the case of a fission reactor, uranium pellets (typically including the radioactive isotope U-235 enriched to a concentration of 3-5%), encased in fuel rods, undergo a controlled chain reaction in the core, releasing energy in the form of heat, which turns pressurized water into pressurized steam, and the steam drives the turbines to generate electricity.
4. All fossil fuels emit carbon dioxide when burned to create heat; the fission reaction does not.
Fission Energy
1. Today, there are 103 active nuclear reactor power plants in the US – supplying 20% of the nation’s electricity. In addition, there are 337 working reactors producing electricity in 30 countries outside the US. France obtains 78% of its electricity from fission power plants (59). The other leading nuclear powered electricity generating countries are: Japan (55); Russia (31); UK (23); South Korea(20); Canada (18); Ukraine (15); India (15); and China (10).
2. Worldwide, an additional 27 new fission power plants are under construction, another 38 are in the planning stage and another 115 are proposed. Of these plants, it is notable that India proposes 24 new reactor plants, China proposes 19 and South Africa 24.
3. Today, before construction of a nuclear power plant can even begin in the US, three certifications are required from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC): a site permit; an approved reactor design; and a construction/operating license. Such an application can involve up to 30,000 pages of drawings, calculations, environmental studies, seismology studies, etc.; the review process alone consumes approximately three years.
4. Safer, less complicated, cheaper designs for fission energy power plants are evolving from Westinghouse, GE, the French-German company Areva, and others. The NRC should approve/standardize 6-10 designs for 1000 Mwe and/or 1500 Mwe (“base load”) output – with the goal of reducing the regulatory process time to 1 year (for previously certified designs); construction time to 5 years and cost to no more than $2-3 Billion, respectively.
5. The main safety features of most reactors are inherent - negative temperature coefficient and negative void coefficient. The first means that beyond an optimal level, as the temperature increases the efficiency of the reaction decreases (this in fact is used to control power levels in some new designs). The second means that if any steam has formed in the cooling water there is a decrease in moderating effect so that fewer neutrons are able to cause fission and the reaction slows down automatically.
6. 18-27 new permits for fission powered electric utility plants are now pending before the NRC – most are near existing reactor sites. If the foregoing goals were adopted (i.e., legislated by Congress), at least 25 new fission power plants should be operating by 2020. An additional 50 new plants should be brought online by 2030 and another 75 new fission reactor plants by 2040. Combined with the current 100+ fission power plants (refurbished and re-licensed), the country realistically could anticipate fission energy providing 50% of its electrical power needs by the year 2040.
7. Between global warming, largely caused by burning fossil fuels, and US dependence on unstable/unfriendly foreign oil supplies (e.g., Mid-East and Venezuela), the economics of fission energy can no longer be treated as an obstacle. If necessary, construction must be subsidized by the federal government – in particular, the construction of the critically needed spent - fuel reprocessing and recycling plants for recovering fission fuel.
Fossil Fuel
1. Today, the US produces carbon dioxide emissions that are 50% greater than that of any other country; these emissions are a major contributor to global warming. In 2002, the US, China, Russia,Japan, India and Germany emitted some 3.9 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Carbon emissions from these countries have continued to rise each year since 2002.
2. If the world is to avoid potentially devastating climate changes, it must stop the current upward trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions within the next 10-20 years.
Alternative Non-Carbon Dioxide Energy
1. Wind, solar and hydrogen fuel cell technologies are not practical/not developed/not proven for large-scale production of electricity in the near-term, i.e., in the next 10-20 years.
2. For example, a recent proposal to build 40 wind-turbine generators off Long Island’s south shore in a grid covering 8 miles, each windmill being 440 feet high (the Washington monument is 550 feet) would produce only enough electricity for 44,000 homes - at a proposed construction cost of $400 Million. By contrast, a 1,000 Mwe fission power reactor produces electric power for 1 million homes at a construction cost of $2-3 Billion.
3. For another example, today, ethanol accounts for 5% of automobile fuel in the US, and yet, to achieve this meager reduction in gasoline usage, the country is already diverting some 25% of its current corn production away from animal and human food consumption. Considering the amount of fossil fuel burned in planting, cultivating, harvesting, transporting and processing the corn into ethanol, there is little gain, if any, to be realized in the reduction of carbon emissions. Much the same is true for soybean, switch grass or other crop conversions to ethanol.
LETTER TO PAUL
Hi Paul,
Thank you very much for your kind notes. I hadn't realized that intelligence skips generations --sort of like twins, huh?
Anyway, I like your father's sense of humor. I reviewed the website; if tough, he had an engaging smile that hid it very well.
My game was tennis, although not quite to the level of a scratch golfer.
I see that your father's sister also was afflicted with ALS. So sad for your family -- I assume that means they inherited the disease from their parents, each being a carrier of the defective gene. But maybe not. I learned just a few years ago that my parents were second cousins; however, I'm the last of seven children and none of my siblings has had the disease. As Dr. Lewis Rowland of Columbia -Pres once said to me, "stop blaming your parents ". We all grew up on a farm in the middle of Kansas and drank the same well water as our cows. As one of my brothers likes to say, our mere survival is a , alone, a miracle!
I, too, have now lost my voice and, except for the computer (which I only use at home), also communicate by means of a letterboard, which is so frustrating. If not for the computer, I think I would lose my sanity. And now, the researchers are starting to put "chips" in the head, which somehow can run the computer by the brain's thought processes. That may be a little more than one needs!
My wife, Maureen, and your mother sound like kindred spirits so I'm sure we will meet in the near future. Thanks again for sharing your experiences with me.
Best regards, Bob.
Thank you very much for your kind notes. I hadn't realized that intelligence skips generations --sort of like twins, huh?
Anyway, I like your father's sense of humor. I reviewed the website; if tough, he had an engaging smile that hid it very well.
My game was tennis, although not quite to the level of a scratch golfer.
I see that your father's sister also was afflicted with ALS. So sad for your family -- I assume that means they inherited the disease from their parents, each being a carrier of the defective gene. But maybe not. I learned just a few years ago that my parents were second cousins; however, I'm the last of seven children and none of my siblings has had the disease. As Dr. Lewis Rowland of Columbia -Pres once said to me, "stop blaming your parents ". We all grew up on a farm in the middle of Kansas and drank the same well water as our cows. As one of my brothers likes to say, our mere survival is a , alone, a miracle!
I, too, have now lost my voice and, except for the computer (which I only use at home), also communicate by means of a letterboard, which is so frustrating. If not for the computer, I think I would lose my sanity. And now, the researchers are starting to put "chips" in the head, which somehow can run the computer by the brain's thought processes. That may be a little more than one needs!
My wife, Maureen, and your mother sound like kindred spirits so I'm sure we will meet in the near future. Thanks again for sharing your experiences with me.
Best regards, Bob.
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