Nuclear Power

So as we all know City public Service (CPS) Energy has proposed a plan to expand the South Texas Project (STP) Nuclear Plant, located outside Bay City, from two to four nuclear reactors. According to the San Antonio Express News, the big question arising from the community of San Antonio is if there will be enough water in fast-growing, drought-prone South Texas to meet the needs of two more nuclear reactors. Mike Kotara, CPS Energy's Vice President in charge of energy development, said most of those painting nightmare scenarios of the STP's reactors running out of water either do not understand or ignore the plant's plans to guarantee water is available, even during drought.
I have been researching the debate for a couple of days and have not yet figured out which side of the fence I fall on. So far I'm leaning towards being against the expansion because I'd rather save energy than use more. Also, there are not many pros to this issue, as opposed to cons. One of the cons on the expansion is that CPS customer's bills would increase about 5% every other year until 2016 when it would drop to a 3.7% increase then to a .07% increase in 2018, according to a slide show presented by CPS energy executive. CPS Energy owns 40% of the nuclear power plant and would need to invest $5.2 billion in the expansion. Mayor Julian Castro says a 40% ownership is too risky and costly, a lesser ownership stake would be better for the city.

Mission Espada Aqueduct

Last week i took the time to visit the Mission Espada Dam. One of the oldest functioning aqueducts in the United States. The Dam was built by the Native Americans from surrounding farms to serve the missionary lands of Espada but the idea or "blue print" by the Spaniards who brought many technologies of their day to the Indians of South Texas. Some of the technologies include agriculture, roman arches, watermills, herding animals, and also blacksmiths. As soon as I got there the first thing I decided to do was enjoy the scenery. It was so beautiful , "breathtaking"...not the "breathtaking" that would lead one to think it was nice landscaping with multiple flowers blooming, but the kind of "breathtaking" that so wonderful because you were able to see the history of the landscape, so rugged and natural. There was quite a bit of mud and pebbles on the banks of the small stream that ran through the historic dam. There was a few large smooth rocks alongside the stream. The sound of water slightly running over the rocks made a small trickle sound that calmed and relaxed me. This made the experience even more enjoyable for me. This was so weird because i was actually trying to visit the dam and rush to work but when i sat on a rock just to get the feel of the environment it was a sudden stop in time, a mini vaca. so i really took the time to soak that relaxed feeling in. Then I headed towards the marker where a brief history lesson was written. From this information I gathered I learned that the dam was 15 miles long and irrigated 3,500 acres of land. It was built across the San Antonio River. It is the only structure built between 1740-1745. The dam had survived many Indian attacks and floods. The Espada Dam used floodgates to control the amount of water sent to each irrigation. Is was mainly used for the supply of water and the success for agriculture. Also, for bathing, washing, and power for mill wheels. The Dam was one of seven aqueducts used to divert water from the San Antonio River to irrigation ditches for the spanish missions. In 1965 the U.S. Department of Interior Designated Espada Aqueduct as a Registered National Historic Landmark. Today the espada Dam still carries water over creeks to fields near the mission just as it did centuries ago. Espada Aqueduct is a Texas Landmark and serves as a tourist attraction. People from many different places come to visit this Historic Landmark and experience the calming beautiful scenery. So I suggest to you all reading this as well to do the same. Although, i actually arrived late to work, it was well worth my time to stop and enjoy the wonderful experience.

Mission Espada

This past weekend i visited and toured Mission Espada. I have only vsited the mission once before when i was in the 2nd grade. So i really didn't know much about Mission Espada until now. Going there now, i really took this opportunity to actually comprehend and understand the purpose of the mission and how it came to be. As we began the tour i quickly found out that the mission was established in 1731. It was built by the Native Americans of South texas under the direction from the Spaniards. The purpose of the mission was to be used as a church where the Spaniards converted the Native Americans to catholicism. Something i found very interesting was that a couple of years ago there was a power shortage in the chapel that sparked a fire. They later discovered that one of the saints that was ruined in th fire had 12k gold underneath the outerlayer of wood. there was sectional off to the side of the mission that was labeled "The Granary". This was where they kept their melons, chilies, spices, corn, sugar etc. This drew the attention of the other Native Americans around Mission Espada. I pictured sort of a small farmers market. As we walked the grounds of Mission Espada gospel music echoed throughout the mission. This was very soothing and relaxing to me. Overall, visiting Mission Espada was a gret experience for me. I highly recommend others to take the time to visit Mission Espada and learn more about the history of my community...beautiful South Texas.