Interesting articles on EV, utilities, renewables and their impacts

[SunEagle]

The usual argument, everyone talks about if we should have Nuke, but nobody talks
about cleaning it up its design. Bruce Roe

I believe those new smaller package units are much safer than the older technology and can be built in much less the time.

I also understand your concern about nuclear since you seem to live in the shadow of one.

[bcroe]

I believe those new smaller package units are much safer than the older technology and can be built in much less the time.
I also understand your concern about nuclear since you seem to live in the shadow of one.

My concern is more general; I would like nuke to be much less of a safety issue, so we
could get on with building them without such serious (and justified) debate.

Even if that happens, it won't help me. The Byron plant 6 miles away will be there longer
than me. If it blows, we are all out of here or worse. I figure of all the plants in the world,
with a major problem every 20 years, chances are pretty low it will be my plant in my lifetime.
Otherwise, I didn't have to buy this property. They did blow a couple transformers in recent years.

That dual reactor plant delivers a lot of power. We can see when one unit is being refueled,
when one cooling tower stops steaming; a not infrequent event. What I would like to know,
is exactly what the function is of those big steel "bird houses" with a hooded opening pointed
straight at the plant. They are on utility poles, in a circle several miles in diameter. Maybe
they are to report a catastrophic event that killed everyone in the plant? Nobody is talking
about them. Bruce Roe

[russ]

Three Mile Island didn't release enough radioactivity to bother with.

Fukishima was a design stupidity - where some old guy who was boss was chattering rather than listening - part of the yes man culture.

Your 20 years is BS.

[bcroe]

Three Mile Island didn't release enough radioactivity to bother with.
Fukishima was a design stupidity - where some old guy who was boss was chattering rather
than listening - part of the yes man culture. Your 20 years is BS.

I DON'T see why anybody thinks that describing what has happened, does ANYTHING to solve
the problem. And never mind arguments of failure frequency, I don't want ANY FAILURES.
Bruce Roe

[SunEagle]

My concern is more general; I would like nuke to be much less of a safety issue, so we
could get on with building them without such serious (and justified) debate.

Even if that happens, it won't help me. The Byron plant 6 miles away will be there longer
than me. If it blows, we are all out of here or worse. I figure of all the plants in the world,
with a major problem every 20 years, chances are pretty low it will be my plant in my lifetime.
Otherwise, I didn't have to buy this property. They did blow a couple transformers in recent years.

That dual reactor plant delivers a lot of power. We can see when one unit is being refueled,
when one cooling tower stops steaming; a not infrequent event. What I would like to know,
is exactly what the function is of those big steel "bird houses" with a hooded opening pointed
straight at the plant. They are on utility poles, in a circle several miles in diameter. Maybe
they are to report a catastrophic event that killed everyone in the plant? Nobody is talking
about them. Bruce Roe

I found a one of your "bird houses" East of the Plant. I first thought it might be an air "sampler" but then it could be an alarm of some kind.

I know that just North of me where the Crystal River nuke is located there are "sirens" on poles all up and down Rt 19 which is the main N/S roadway that goes past the plant. No question they were installed to sound the alarm. No problem now since they shut that puppy down yet I am still paying for it.

[russ]

I DON'T see why anybody thinks that describing what has happened, does ANYTHING to solve
the problem. And never mind arguments of failure frequency, I don't want ANY FAILURES.
Bruce Roe

There are no guarantees in life. If we want power something nasty has to be done.

[Sunking]

I would ban planes trains and automobiles before I would ban a nuke plant. Records are sketchy because they are Russians, but to date only 4000 people have been known to die from nuclear power plant malfunction, All are from Russia Chernobyl and Kyshtym which the public knows nothing about as it was kept secret. Both of those accidents were intentional man made meltdowns.

So how many people have been killed by planes, trains, and automobiles? Bet a dollar it is more than 4000. I would say worldwide 4000/day.

[russ]

I would ban planes trains and automobiles before I would ban a nuke plant.

Sunking - You are asking people to use common sense - what a terrible thing to suggest!

[bcroe]

There are no guarantees in life. If we want power something nasty has to be done.

Lets not confuse unavoidable risks, with those that can be prevented. And to note
potential improvements, just look at how much safer todays cars and airplanes are,
than the first produced. No one has shown that the Nukes can't be better; since I
want Nukes, I want safe ones.

Illinois drivers manage to kill about 1000 people every year. After a million and a
half miles of driving, I have seen a lot of stuff. That is totally irrelevant to the Nuke
issues. Bruce Roe

[kwilcox]

... If we want power something nasty has to be done.

I disagree.

[JCP]

Why pay twice? A nuke can generate 24 hours a day every day for 50 years and more fuel than man will ever use. . Why pay to add expensive solar or wind with unreliable output only a few hours in a day. You are not saving money and a strong argument for wasting resources.

There's still that nasty issue of how much nuclear fuel is available to mine.

To add fuel (nuclear or otherwise) to this fiery debate: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/201...batteries-evs/

[SunEagle]

There's still that nasty issue of how much nuclear fuel is available to mine.

To add fuel (nuclear or otherwise) to this fiery debate: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/201...batteries-evs/

That article is total BS. How many people in the US will ever be able to afford an EV or a small battery system to store energy. The majority of the people here almost live paycheck to paycheck and worry about putting food on the table not how to pay for a battery.

I would think that it is the same in Europe. Did you read today's news concerning the government of France? They all quit. The main reason the politicians left was due to the people being real angry about high unemployment and high cost of living. So who in France can afford an EV?

Sure by 2020 we will have found some type of "battery" to store RE but the people that will be able to afford that battery (stationary or car) will still be in the top 10 to 15% of the populace. If we shut down the majority of fossil fuel or nuclear generating plants and rely only on RE I guess the rest of those poor souls (me included) will just have to light up candles at night because there won't be enough power available.

The real sad thing is that even if all fossil fuel generation stopped right now along with not driving fossil fuel vehicles it won't reverse Climate Change one bit. Sure there will be less pollutants in the air but the planet's temp will still rise and the weather will continue to change.

[inetdog]

The real sad thing is that even if all fossil fuel generation stopped right now along with not driving fossil fuel vehicles it won't reverse Climate Change one bit. Sure there will be less pollutants in the air but the plant's temp will still rise and the weather will continue to change.

It would not reverse it, and in the very short term it would not even slow it down.
But as some ancient Roman is reputed to have said, a civilized man will planet a tree now that will give fruit and shade to his grandchildren.

[SunEagle]

It would not reverse it, and in the very short term it would not even slow it down.
But as some ancient Roman is reputed to have said, a civilized man will planet a tree now that will give fruit and shade to his grandchildren.

Yeah. I saw my typo and changed it. But I do like what you quoted by the ancient Roman.

[russ]

I disagree.

Wow - What part of that can you disagree with - or are you just being green?