Is Nuclear Energy Worth the Risk?

[Oiler41]

I think nuclear energy is a viable option. The knee jerk based on what is happening in Japan is normal when something catastrophic like this happens. Was the problem the power plant? No. Was the problem the earthquake? No. The problem was the tsunami. Locate nuclear power plants where they are not near the water, not on a fault line, or in a tornado alley. Modern day nuclear power plants rely on gravity feed water cooling systems. What that means is that if they have a power failure, water flows from above to allow time to get backup power systems working, so that pumps used to circulate the water can be placed back online. In the case of Japan, they had back up power sources, but they went under water so it was the one, two punch of earthquake followed by tsuname that led to what is happening now. We are very dependent on fossil fuels; that isn't likely to change in the short term. However, we do need to look at all alternative sources including nuclear. Just my .02.

Glynn

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Oiler41

I think nuclear energy is a viable option. The knee jerk based on what is happening in Japan is normal when something catastrophic like this happens. Was the problem the power plant? No. Was the problem the earthquake? No. The problem was the tsunami. Locate nuclear power plants where they are not near the water, not on a fault line, or in a tornado alley. Modern day nuclear power plants rely on gravity feed water cooling systems. What that means is that if they have a power failure, water flows from above to allow time to get backup power systems working, so that pumps used to circulate the water can be placed back online. In the case of Japan, they had back up power sources, but they went under water so it was the one, two punch of earthquake followed by tsuname that led to what is happening now. We are very dependent on fossil fuels; that isn't likely to change in the short term. However, we do need to look at all alternative sources including nuclear. Just my .02.

Glynn

We do need to look at al alternatives, but Japan's island grouping circumfrances is not really a good geographic fit for nuclear power plants- island are not in general- especially in areas with the constant seismic activity and tsunami probablilities (tsunami is from the Japanese language).

Japan as a technological leader and its power needs are difficult due to its size and being a country of islands. So, it chose nuclear as its prime power source. It doesn't have a lot of land mass for something like wind or huge solar panel "fields." It is a country with a lot of people and construction is very vertical. It will be hit many more times by tsunamis in the future and the plants that are in trouble were built in 1979. A lot has been developed since then in terms of plant engineering. They really have a problem in terms of viable energy sources. The US has many more options.

[Glenn]

The truth is, if we switched to a more viable option now, our enemies would crush us in a day.

[Daywalker]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

The truth is, if we switched to a more viable option now, our enemies would crush us in a day.

In what way do you mean?

[Turtle]

~ It's way, way too expensive to build a plant

~ There is no safe long-term storage for the waste, nobody wants it, it lasts too long, etc.

~ We cannot plan for and control all the things that can go wrong

~ No matter how safe the actual process is, the plant is run by humans, who regularly mistakes

AND

~ It can get OUT-OF-CONTROL when we fuck up and the price is way too high.

[EnderD_503]

I think there tends to be a lot of alarmism when it comes to nuclear power. Yeah there have been a handful if even of major accidents that have not ended well, but given that plants have evolved since most of those took place I don't think there is a need to be overly worried. Japan really was a case of an event that was unprecedented in Japanese history as far as the scale of both the tsunami and the earthquake. Yet I was just hearing on the news the other day that it had been revealed that the leak had not been as dangerous/severe as previously thought. Of course we won't know the real effect for a while, but I do think we have the tendency to blow disasters out of proportion at first.

Anyways, given how many nuclear power plants are providing vast areas with electricity the world over today, and given the number of accidents there have been today, I would not be worried.

Ontario has something like 15 or 20 nuclear power plants and, according to the official OPG website, have not had a single mishap in the 40 years that they have been operating these plants. It's not Ontario's sole source of electricity, but apparently nuclear energy can account for up to 50% of Ontario's electricty needs, which I found interesting. Of course Ontario is rather strategically placed so we get a lot of power from hydroelectricity (thank you Niagra Falls lol) as well.

I've no doubt that if governments and related researchers became completely dedicated to making alternative energy a true reality, that it would be possible. Lol, I remember some German students that were shown on the news once who made a functioning car entirely out of biodegradable material and ran it on green energy. Come on, if graduate students can do it, evidently with more money behind it this wouldn't be entirely farfetched.

[The_Lady_Snow]

Originally Posted by popcorninthesofa

The truth is, if we switched to a more viable option now, our enemies would crush us in a day.

+6987543 cause this post was priceless

[Daywalker]

I think a Nuclear Facility had no business being built upon the Ring of Fire.



Radiation is floating in US waters as we type.


Jack put in a link to a blog earlier in this thread.
Thank you Jack, it made for some really interesting reading last night.


I refuse to be one of those people that believes everything Authorities spew
about the dangers that surround us. I am not a paranoid person, but
was taught to 'question everything'.


If radiation gets into mah soil here, I'll be one pissed off Hippy.
I prefer to grow mah Harvest outdoors, doncha know.



Solar and Wind might not line the oil fuck-wads' pockets with green,
but it sure as hell will ensure that our hillsides remain green.

[Apocalipstic]

Originally Posted by Kat

Yes, if we'll be wanting electricity in the relatively near future that doesn't further speed up climate change.

Sadly, everything seems to involve a Faustian bargain these days...

Indeed!

Originally Posted by Corkey

http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_new...nuclear-planet

Maddow had this up on her blog today. By the looks of it we are already screwing up our DNA as well as every single living thing on the planet.

We are doomed, no matter how we look at it.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Daywalker

I think a Nuclear Facility had no business being built upon the Ring of Fire.



Radiation is floating in US waters as we type.


Jack put in a link to a blog earlier in this thread.
Thank you Jack, it made for some really interesting reading last night.


I refuse to be one of those people that believes everything Authorities spew
about the dangers that surround us. I am not a paranoid person, but
was taught to 'question everything'.


If radiation gets into mah soil here, I'll be one pissed off Hippy.
I prefer to grow mah Harvest outdoors, doncha know.



Solar and Wind might not line the oil fuck-wads' pockets with green,
but it sure as hell will ensure that our hillsides remain green.

There have been so many conflicting reports about the Japanese plant, I find it difficult to trust much of what has been reported. Some of this I believe is simply due to unknown facts. And so much that needs to be evaluated is has too high of radiation levels for workers to even get cameras in.

Reports of radiation levels have been all over the place- even from organizations that have a lot of expertise.

There isn't much room for error with nuclear power- consequently I don't put much weight in the accident records. It is just not like other kinds of mishaps. We have no control over events like earthquakes or tsunamis and at what magnitude they can hit. And we do not have the spent fuel storage/disposal figured out.

Frankly, I don't think a thing has been blown out of proportion- higher levels of particular kinds of radiation have entered the Japanese food chain and water.

Yes, ask questions and do research. I don't doubt the great minds that bring these kinds of advances to us at all- I do not trust government regulatory agencies and plant management to do what the scientists and engineers tell them in order to run these plants in a safe manner- they will not do so because of costs. Look at what was going on in the Gulf with regulation agencies! And not only does this suck due to the spill, but that is an area that has a large work force in the oil drilling industry along with fishing. Nuclear plants also provide many jobs.


Right now, due to cost, huge energy companies in the US won't touch nuclear power.