Nukes, Life, and School

Nukes? Why yes, dear Watson. They’re truly elementary. What I’m not alluding to is the destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons, but instead of the peaceful potential of nuclear power. First, let’s get something very, very, clear. I do not, in any way, support the ignorant and vastly assumptive resolution to nuclear fuel, just put it in big containers in a mountain. I find it hard to believe that we would hide ourselves behind the assumption that thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds or thousands? millions?) of tons of nuclear fuel with massive destructive power will simply sit idly in a mountain for millions of years. Here’s the assumptions of this argument.

1) Future inhabitants of Earth will solve our problem by finding a good way to dispose of nuclear waste.

2) We can’t find a way now.

3) Nothing will go wrong in millions of years.

4) We will be the preeminent military power in the world for millions of years, never giving another country an opportunity to blow up these stores, thereby screwing over our nation.

Those are just a few of the numerous, ridiculous assumptions that we must make on our own behalf to justify our measures for disposing of nuclear waste. My solution is to “pull a Manhattan Project”, but instead of making nuclear materials, lets find a way to solve the nuclear waste issue. I propose this for a few reasons, but first, a little history.

The Manhattan Project cost (in 1940s dollars) $2 billion. This is about $24 billion today. In conjunction with Canada and the UK, we gathered the best engineers of the time and went from knowing that Uranium lets off a lot of energy, to building a weapon that could wipe small countries off the map, and brought an empire that said it would fight until the last man to its knees. This took 4 years, and a quarter-trillion dollars.

Move to 2008. We’re attempting to kick our nuclear waste problem down the line. The world seems to hate us, we’re embroiled in two foreign wars, our dollar is falling, we are losing pride, and energy costs are out the roof. In 1940, we were strapped for cash, prices were sky-rocketing, people were getting tired of war, and we seemed to be at a crossroads. Along comes FDR, and his revolutionary idea to simply sit down and fix the problem of winning the war – build a big-ass bomb. Lets just reverse the equation. If we are successful, the positive output from being able to deal with nuclear waste is amazing. Here’s a few reasons.

1) Energy.

Could you imagine never having to fill up your car? Wouldn’t it be magical if all you had to do was buy a car and you knew that it was powered for life? No gas stations, no running costs to visit grandparents, the beach, or a road-trip. Also, don’t worry about all this increased traffic to cause pollution, you’ll be emitting pure steam into the blue skies, and thereby eliminating one of the largest pollution hazards in the world – American car emissions. You wouldn’t have to give up that big ole truck either! Drive that sucker like you’re going to the county fair with your cousin, because you’ll be getting the same mileage (infinite) as your Prius-driving, liberal yuppie neighbor with his mocha-soy-latte and Buddy Holly glasses.

2) Nationalism

For a country that loves to love itself (this is a health attribute for a nation for those self-depricating punks out there) there would be tremendous pride from both conservative flagophiles and spineless liberals who love to complain. We, as a nation, would have invested the time, money, and people into a project that would instantaneously cut major amounts of pollution and energy needs. This is truly something to be proud of. To this day, we are a nation that praises the fact that we worked with Canadians, Brits, Germans, Austrians, Dutch, and a host of other engineers and scientist to solve a major world problem (how to kill them shifty Japs…). Would your kids and grandkidsnot look up to us with pride to know that our generation was the one that gave them a world to nurture and tend rather than fight for the very existence of? This fighting spirit should be inherited by those yet to come, not forced upon them  as a way to keep the world spinning. When we read of our ancestors, we don’t remember the cowards who maintained the status quo for a false security, but we hear the speeches of men before a battle that changed the course of the world, we understand the power of Einstein’s mind, and we furthermore revel in past acheivements that resulted in the quality of life we have today. America’s soul would benefit greatly from us taking the time to solve our nulcear conundrum.

3) Economy

There’s little need to get into details to see the positive effects on our economy. Instead of the average family pouring costs into their car just to get around, that money is now poured into the economy. This also causes major corporations like Exxon and Shell to find something else (hopefully useful) to do with the tens of billions of dollars they make in annual revenue. It might just make them obsolete. The recent stimulous checks did little for our ailing economy, going right back into food and gas for families. With nuclear power, wouldn’t be nice to see food prices go back down and spend $0 a year on energy? Sounds like a plan to me. Of course, there will be some costs. Nuclear plants are hard to insure, there will be costs to get energy to a home, or pay for the intricate details required in building and protecting a car run on nuclear fuel (gotta find a way for nuclear waste not to spill if cars collide!). This way the companies can make money as they should (they are companies afterall) but we, the people, spend very little.

This is my rant on nuclear fuel. We would just get our asses in gear and solve this problem now, a new dawn would approach at rapid speed that could make our world greener, more efficient, and much cheaper! Granted, there are a number of hurdles to cross that very few would be willing to jump, but dreaming is the first step in revolutionary change. The seed has been planted, let’s see what grows.

Oh, life. You are a hard devil to tame. And now, with my senior year, there are a number of questions I have to ask myself in regards to what exactly I’m going to do with it. Currently on the table is: Law School, Masters, Teach For America, Foreign Service Officer, and the possibility of a job with Norfolk Southern in Philly. Alot of these things require tests that I’m hopefully smart enough to pass, but assuming a perfect world, I’ll have alot to chose from (assuming a realistic world, I hope I get to choose one of them). So what to do? I’d love to become a teacher with Teach For America. I had an amazing time as a CCC here at JMU, and I hope to bring my talents into a deserving classroom. I wrote Steve de Man, the Recruitment Director I worked for, a long email about why I wanted to Teach For America. Here’s an excerpt from the email.

I must admit that I do not wish to Teach For America for the fact that I can get a child to do multiplication tables, nor is it for the smiles on their faces or the graduation diplomas. I want to Teach For America to give every child in disadvantaged setting a critical eye and an unshakable voice. With these rudimentary weapons any child from anywhere can suddenly equalize themselves with the world around them, becoming the revolutionaries of a world that until now has only existed in their heads. By empowering these kids, I can assure that their actions in the community and towards individuals promote a world of tomorrow that shines to them, breaking the nihilistic cycle of failure that plagues our disadvantaged students. I can leave that school understanding that their voice, whether one, or a million, can shake the marbled halls of Congress, sway the ear of our nine Justices, and break down the sometimes empty rhetoric of any executive. There are two equalizers in this world, death, and debate. I can spread but one.

…

Whether or not I agree with their politics, I find it a moral responsibility to promote, to the best of my abilities, an activity that allows those of our nation to rise up and take control of our reality and make it their own. It cannot be stressed enough that this is where my reason for pursuing Teach For America lies. It is important to employ teachers in the many ways that we often characterize a  Teach For America teacher – pushing for better reading a writing, supporting a call for more resources, and working hard for their individual students – but for my specific case, the power of debate, and of giving disadvantaged students the ability to bring the world to their level is what calls me into the classroom. This gives me the charisma, sense of urgency, motivation, and focus to overcome the multiple challenges ahead of me, and give a few more students the weaponry they need to break down any barrier, any time, and at any level through life.

Paulo Freire once wrote, “It is absolutely essential that the oppressed participate in the revolutionary process with an increasingly critical awareness of their role as subjects of the transformation,” and when this revolution occurs, I want to know that I laid some stone in it’s foundation, and that our world will be governed by a society of equality arising from all students being able to challenge their reality and make a distinct difference through debate. This is my reason why I want to Teach For America.

Hopefully I will be given the opportunity to Teach For America and bring this perspective into the classroom. The movement started by Wendy Kopp is amazing, and I want to be a part of something so revolutionary, so special, so timely, and so magical. The long hours and tough days that these teachers often face is the environment in which I find myself to thrive. I look forward to the challenge.

So if Teach For America doesn’t quite agree with my passion, and I find myself looking elsewhere, where to start? I could take up the job with Norfolk Southern, assuming it’s open, and make a nice salary for a few years, but I’d be living in Philly. I don’t want to live in Philly. No offense to the city, but I am a southern boy through-and-through. I’d like to take my show to Atlanta, New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah, if possible. My heart just isn’t in Philly. It would be a nice paycheck though, and assuming the money doesn’t suck me in, I could have a lot of my Law School expenses paid off before-hand if I go back to school. Sounds like a good deal… but Philly? Not so much.

Law School, alas, the bastion of argumentation, debate, writing, and corruption I seek. I kinda bombed my LSATs, so I’m still looking, and probably going to apply, but with a much more critical eye. There are too many schools I’m looking at to list here, but I could end up all over the East Coast. My only concern is that I’d be in massive debt once I got out. We’ll see what happens I guess.

Could you see me working in an embassy in some small corner of the world? I can. I need an excuse to travel the world for a living. I think working an awesome job for the State Department might be it. Teach For America and law school would be a great way to train myself for this work, but assuming both those things fall through, why not take a crack at the FSO exam and see what happens? A moderate salary, world-travel, and great stories to tell really intrigues me. The only major draw-back would be the inability to really start a family or get married without worrying what the hell I’d do. I’d like to support a family, not just send a check home and make a phone-call.

Masters: Thinking about getting it, not very seriously though. Who knows. Florence program is still on the table. Gotta take my GRE’s though, which is no fun I hear. God only knows how well I’d do on them.

School: One quick note – I’m trying to do way too much, and it’s about to come back and bite me in the butt. I’ll keep you updated. But, who knows, maybe I can soldier through! It’s what I’m good at!

-W. Thomas Webb

 

“My idea of education is to unsettle the minds of the young and inflame their intellects.”  -Robert Maynard Hutchins