Patrick Moore is on the nuclear bandwagon.

[Bozo Erectus]

Why do I have a duty to someone who may or may not exist? I frequently failed my duty to 'future people' but make up for it by not creating more!

(Yes, we're selfish. You know that. To think otherwise is the truely naive position)

Its selfishness taken to a level beyond pathology.

 

[Scuffer]

By using nuclear power, all youre doing is forcing future generations to deal with the consequences of your energy needs, instead of dealing with them yourself.

But we'll be doing that any way, whatever we choose. No power source, even renewables, has no impact.

I don't like nuclear, but there are decent arguments against just about every form of large-scale power generation. We have to chose one sometime.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Our energy needs today do not outweigh the need of future genrations (our children) to be born on a planet that is able to sustain human life.

 

[Scuffer]

Amen to that. A fine statement. But how do we achieve it? No country in the world is going to scale back its energy production for the future generations, no matter how sensible it might be in the long run.

 

[sysyphus]

Anyone whos more concerned about C02 than they are nuclear waste, isnt reality based.

THen elighten us with a bit of reality: why is CO2 better than nuclear?

 

[sysyphus]

Our energy needs today do not outweigh the need of future genrations (our children) to be born on a planet that is able to sustain human life.

Nuclear leaves a far smaller environmental legacy than does the combustion of hydrocarbons.

The space in which nuclear waste is relatively small (again, on per kW basis) and is contained within the waste facility.

The waste products (of which there is a much large amount of per kW generated) of combustion go right out into the atmosphere, and have negative impacts on our ecosystems, much of which are irreversible.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

If we were going to be objective and scientific about threats to human existence, then C02, which can be dealt with in a few hundred years, or probably much less, is nothing in comparison to nuclear waste.

 

[sysyphus]

What are you talking about? We are having trouble dealing with CO2 now. The impact of it is already plenty apparent and has already caused irreversible damage.

All produced nuclear waste is still contained.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

If we were to go with nuclear as a primary energy source, it wouldnt be so well contained anymore.

 

[El_Machinae]

But we'll be doing that any way, whatever we choose. No power source, even renewables, has no impact.

Unless we use our current power consumption to create a world where there are alternate power solutions when they need them.

 

[El_Machinae]

If we were to go with nuclear as a primary energy source, it wouldnt be so well contained anymore.

There's no way to supply nuclear power to our needs. The US would need 2 powerplants made every 3 months for the next 50 years.

 

[sysyphus]

If we were to go with nuclear as a primary energy source, it wouldnt be so well contained anymore.

Yes it would. The required technology already exists to contain nuclear waste for the enitrety of its life above normal background radiation levels.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Our energy needs today do not outweigh the need of future genrations (our children) to be born on a planet that is able to sustain human life.

Do you realize that the uranium used to generate electrical power in nuclear power plants will undergo the exact same decay chain and produce the exact same elements with the exact same half-lives whether we use it for power and then bury it or leave it buried?

We might as well get as much energy out of the uranium we have before it decays...

 

[sysyphus]

Do you realize that the uranium used to generate electrical power in nuclear power plants will undergo the exact same decay chain and produce the exact same elements with the exact same half-lives whether we use it for power and then bury it or leave it buried?

We might as well get as much energy out of the uranium we have before it decays...

100% correct.

 

[Thorgalaeg]

100% incorrect. Fision reactors produce several subproducts non-existant in natural world like 239Pu, 240Pu, 241Pu, 242Pu, 233Ur among the most common ones plus about 200 other isotopes that do not exist in nature.

 

[El_Machinae]

Do you realize that the uranium used to generate electrical power in nuclear power plants will undergo the exact same decay chain and produce the exact same elements with the exact same half-lives whether we use it for power and then bury it or leave it buried?

We might as well get as much energy out of the uranium we have before it decays...

Won't it run out of power faster?

Anyway, hydrocarbons were created by energy gained from our sun. Uranium is from a supernova. TALK about non-renewable fuel ...

 

[bhsup]

Uranium is from a supernova. TALK about non-renewable fuel ...

Which is why this is so exciting!! I'm all for, in the meantime, using fission until fusion is ready for use on a massive scale.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Won't it run out of power faster?

Yes, but better that we harness the power than let it get wasted while U235 naturally decays...we only have 1.5% left of our original U235 supply now due to natural decay.

Anyway, hydrocarbons were created by energy gained from our sun. Uranium is from a supernova. TALK about non-renewable fuel ...

Either way, we can't make more than we have. Which is why I'd like to go solar sometime in my lifetime...

 

[El_Machinae]

Which is why I'd like to go solar sometime in my lifetime...

The best way to do this is to actually purchase solar cells and incorporate them into your lifestyle. This will push the market, and lead to feedback effects (earlier rather than later)

 

[IglooDame]

By using nuclear power, all youre doing is forcing future generations to deal with the consequences of your energy needs, instead of dealing with them yourself. I know that in the Bush Era, its become fashionable to transfer burdens to future generations, but by pushing them thousands of years into the futre, I think youre getting carried away. Dont you think you owe anything at all to the people who come after you?

I think it is reasonable to assume there will be a fairly clean and easy solution for nuclear waste storage developed in the next thousand years, don't you?