- Joined
- Mar 1, 2014
- Messages
- 4,579
- Points
- 828
I'd feel a lot more at ease with improvements to renewables. If all 3, (solar, wind and tide) were used, wouldn't that help with the unpredictability issue?
There is an image issue with nuclear. A gas explosion (inc. Hydrogen) will kill you pretty horribly too. A typical coal fried power station releases far more radioactive material and toxic heavy metals to the environment pre MWh than a nuclear plant.
Robert G8RPI.
I think what most people struggle with is producing waste they know will be lethally harmful for rest of human history.
How do you keep something safe for time span you can barely comprehend? If our civilisation was to end would the archaeology of the future be a very dangerous game?
I think what most people struggle with is producing waste they know will be lethally harmful for rest of human history.
Visible moisture! How will the planet survive that?!
It's a good thing they're not the only solution then isn't it?
Honestly, it's like some people just want the planet to get more f'd up.
For what it's worth, I'm a paying member of the Green Party, but I don't agree with their Nuclear policies, and can see that Nuclear power is our current best option for the medium term, until we're able to more efficiently store the energy generated by renewable sources while demand is low eg. overnight tidal and/or wind energy.
As far as turbines having an effect on the local climate, I'll grant you it's a concern but (and I'm no scientist or engineer) given that the whole point of renewable energies is to minimise the impact, I suspect the impact is a lot less than the equivalent CO2:kWh ratio from fossil fuel plants. As for the impact to comms and radar - my heart bleeds, I guess engineers will just have to compensate.
Cobalt is found along with copper and nickel and the West African mines are indeed a human rights problem. But its not beyond the wit of customer countries to demand that reasonable labour laws are applied and then make sure it happens. Australia also produces cobalt but they don't use child slave labour. So while DRC is a huge producer they can be pressurised to do the job properly.
Wind turbines cause climate change too, at least locally
https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1pbeng/wind_farm_in_denmark_creating_fog/
Extracting energy from the wind lowers the temperature / pressure which given the right humidity can cause visble mosture to form.
Robert G8RPI
Cobalt is found along with copper and nickel and the West African mines are indeed a human rights problem. But its not beyond the wit of customer countries to demand that reasonable labour laws are applied and then make sure it happens. Australia also produces cobalt but they don't use child slave labour. So while DRC is a huge producer they can be pressurised to do the job properly.
But then they become expensive.
BEVs are only a thing because of labour exploitation and tax loopholes.
Sort the human rights and equalise tax vs fossil and see what happens to sales!