Nuclear energy

So with the recent crisis in japan with the fukoshima power plant what do you guys think about nuclear power and whatnot?

I currently think the way we are dealing with it is stupid, we're doing extensive saftey checks which yes need and should be done but there testing to see if they can handle a natural disaster since when does britain get major hurricanes, tsunami's, earthquakes etc...

Also does nobody think we should just find a pretty useless country like one of thoose desert ones build loads of reactors there and then power the whole planet from one location?

leewatson1 wrote:power the whole planet from one location?

A terrorist's wet dream right there. Just blow one plant up and the rest will too and then the world's without power.

Plus there aren't any ''useless desert areas'' where a meltdown wouldn't cause a huge radiation cloud to submerge a major north african/african city in rads.

What we need is to fill up the desert with solar plants to cover the middle east's, and maybe later some of Europe's, energy consumption.

I like the solar Sahara idea that's been suggested. However, I think it would be wrong to write off nuclear. Nuclear has always had a stigma attached to it, but it is still generally not as adverse to health as coal, and less likely to kill than hydro-electric power.

Shemuel wrote:However, I think it would be wrong to write off nuclear.

Oh don't get me wrong, I love nuclear power. It's hundreds of times cleaner and more efficient than fossil fuel. I'm just not liking lee's idea of using only nuclear power and simply clumping together a bunch of reactors in one area to provide the world's power. That's just asking for disaster.

there is another major problem. In case none of you noticed everything has a resistance to the flow of electrical current the longer the cable the more energy is lost that is why country's have their own power stations dotted around the place.

What about those new superconductors? Have you heard about those?

They really need to start implementing them into new projects.

well its all about cost. you can make anything a superconductor if you cool it enough.

@Philly: Oh, yes, Lee's idea is silly. I wasn't supporting that.

Now that i think about it, my idea was stupid. But still we should still invest in new nuclear plants and once we establish fusion as a viable energy source we should start to decomission the fission plants. Since in theory one fusion plant could power about half of the UK's current power needs. [citation needed]

leewatson1 wrote:once we establish fusion as a viable energy source we should start to decomission the fission plants.

As one of my lecturers said, there is no point in planning for something we may never have, or at least not for a very long time.

Well there is alot of research into it at the moment and isn't britain the most advanced in fusion, and i understand it will be many years before we have it maybe not in my lifetime but we will one day.

I agree that fusion is the best type of energy and the safest ( they can be shut down so quickly) however nuclear energy is actually very safe it just has its own drawbacks and risks.

Jtull wrote:nuclear energy is actually very safe

And it's really damn clean too. Can't wait til the day that we all eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels and natural gas in favor of renewable, natural energy and nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is not renewable however it is very effective. I don't think it is right for New Zealand however other country's it suits perfectly.

Jtull wrote:Nuclear energy is not renewable

I know. That's why I said:

renewable, natural energy and nuclear energy.

It just boggles the mind that they don't just start completely converting to alternative energy with some, you know, haste? Gas prices are supposed to go over $5 a gallon here in the US during the summer, and that's just gouging. Oil companies are making hundreds of millions in profit in tandem with the Saudis. Not only does the country have a large enough oil reserve to cut out the Saudis completely, we also have the ability to make far more efficient cars that will hold us over until commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles come out. The whole system is stupid.

yea well your Americans. here in new Zealand we drive everywhere especially when there has been a major earthquake and people are asked to stay off the roads.


Anyway yea its all about money not the planet.