19.11.08
Nuclear! Nuclear! Nuclear!
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From the depths,
Politics
So, I found this to be a great look at 5 physics problems that Obama will have to deal with. Of course, it includes a resounding backing for nuclear power, and although it argues against manned spaceflight, I think it's a worthy read (it's short).
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while i think its easy to peg nuclear power as the end all solution to our energy crisis, its also easy to overlook its long list of problems. people tend to get caught up in the "if its not carbon based, its gotta be good" syndrome. In order to look at nuclear power seriously we need to look at the externality costs. Uranium requires intensive mining which is devastating for the environment where it takes place (much of which comes from utah), displaces native tribes and peoples, and is extremely fossil fuel dependent. not only that, but nuclear power is the most toxic polluter of any energy source. BUT because ive been accused of posting too long of posts, ill just post a link to an article that i hope people read to at least understand nuclear energy isnt the Godsend of energy and should NOT be the direction we look to solve our energy needs.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.commondreams.org/views05/0415-23.htm
while there are negatives, i believe that nuclear power is *a* solution, not *the* solution. most of the arguments in that newspaper article can be countered by sound science (journalists and columnists are never the people who you should turn to for good arguments). she also failed to mention that while nuclear is *only* 3 times cleaner than natural gas, she never mentions how efficient either are. the argument where she mentions that two-coal powered plants have to power an enrichment site--well, those two could easily be replaced by a single nuclear plant (which could also power more than just the enrichment site). reactor's are amazingly safe in our day and age, and nearly all of those byproducts she mentioned as extremely long-term hazards are also found naturally in abundance.
ReplyDeletei'm not saying nuclear is the end-all solution, but it's certainly not as scary as the public may believe it is and should be considered as a possible solution to OUR energy crisis at OUR time.