BRAZIL NEEDS NUCLEAR?

Apparently sugar ethanol isn’t the solution to the energy problem Midwesterners seem to think it is.

Lula: Brazil to push for nuclear power if hydro fails
May 3, 2007 (Reuters)

WHO
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

WHAT
Lula da Silva is either laying the groundwork for developing a nuclear energy industry in his country or trying to motivate his countrymen to get busy funding and developing a hydroelectric infrastructure.
Minas Gerais
WHEN
Lula made his statements May 3 at the “christening” of a hydroelectric plant.

WHERE
The new hydro electric plant was in central Minas Gerais, a state in southeastern Brazil.

WHY
Lula recently restructured Ibama, his country’s environmental protection agency, because it has been slow in licensing hydroelectric and other infrastructure projects. He is especially adamant about the development of hydroelectric projects on the Amazon basin's Madeira River. Hydroelectric presently provides over 90% of Brazil’s electricity. Lula will soon make a decision about proceding with construction on Brazil’s third nuclear plant, dormant since 1985 and projected to cost $1.5 billion to complete.
click to enlarge
QUOTES
- Lula da Silva: "We either build the hydroelectric plants we need or we'll enter the nuclear age…"
- Lula: “We can't continue depending on gas we don't have. We need to think about the type of energy in our matrix…"