R
rdean
Guest
Of course I have much more "faith" in science than the occult.
I believe the problems of nuclear waste can be overcome. Right wingers underestimate the waste problem. In spite of that, I believe it can be solved.
All of the nuclear disasters turned out to be human error, even Japan. Built in the wrong place which is why the Japanese placed a 30 ft wall in front of it. The giant waves turned out to be 30 ft tall, but the earth quake caused the wall to drop 10 feet for hundreds of miles.
There is more nuclear waste than what right wingers on this board let on. Sure, France has a small facility in France, but they send the bulk of their waste to Siberia. Even Germany sends 1,500 tons a year. Doesn't sound like much, but in 10 years that 15,000 tons of nuclear material that will stay dangerous for a million years, if not longer. And OH, YEA, those Siberians are SOOO "safe".
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But what were initially lauded as the first reactors of a nuclear renaissance when proposed are more likely to be the exceptions that prove the rule of no new nuclear construction in the U.S. Only this twin set of reactors in Georgia, another pair in South Carolina and the completion of an old reactor in Tennessee are likely to be built in the U.S. for at least the next decade. "We won't build large numbers of new nuclear plants in the U.S. in the near term," says Marvin Fertel, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying group for the nuclear industry.
The problem is twofold: electricity demand in the U.S. is not growing and natural gas, which can be burned to generate electricity, is cheap. As a result, utilities are building more natural gasburning turbines rather than more expensive nuclear power plants.
Nuclear Reactor Approved in U.S. for First Time Since 1978: Scientific American
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Nuclear utilities in the U.S. will need to hire nearly 25,000 people to replace the 39 percent of its workforce that will be eligible for retirement by 2016, says Carol L. Berrigan, senior director for industry infrastructure for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based trade group. Meanwhile, U.S. universities awarded a total of 715 graduate and undergraduate degrees in nuclear engineering in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.
A Labor Shortage for U.S. Nuclear Plants - Businessweek
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http://www.new.ans.org/pi/ps/docs/ps29.pdf
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Unfortunately, nuclear engineering and nuclear power plants are come under the authority of the government. Something Republicans want to shrink so small they can drown it in a bathtub. It's also part of "infrastructure". Something Republicans will never support. Can only be built by engineers and scientists, people Republicans feel are elitist, over educated and "Education is for snobs". Which means the only people who will be able to build these facilities are "immigrants", people they will never accept.
Once I pointed out that government inspectors at nuclear power plants need to be either an engineer or scientist. A right winger on this very board ask, "Why? As long as they have a check list?" If that were the criteria, then perhaps a kitchen inspector is "good enough"?
I believe the problems of nuclear waste can be overcome. Right wingers underestimate the waste problem. In spite of that, I believe it can be solved.
All of the nuclear disasters turned out to be human error, even Japan. Built in the wrong place which is why the Japanese placed a 30 ft wall in front of it. The giant waves turned out to be 30 ft tall, but the earth quake caused the wall to drop 10 feet for hundreds of miles.
There is more nuclear waste than what right wingers on this board let on. Sure, France has a small facility in France, but they send the bulk of their waste to Siberia. Even Germany sends 1,500 tons a year. Doesn't sound like much, but in 10 years that 15,000 tons of nuclear material that will stay dangerous for a million years, if not longer. And OH, YEA, those Siberians are SOOO "safe".
--------------------------------
But what were initially lauded as the first reactors of a nuclear renaissance when proposed are more likely to be the exceptions that prove the rule of no new nuclear construction in the U.S. Only this twin set of reactors in Georgia, another pair in South Carolina and the completion of an old reactor in Tennessee are likely to be built in the U.S. for at least the next decade. "We won't build large numbers of new nuclear plants in the U.S. in the near term," says Marvin Fertel, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a lobbying group for the nuclear industry.
The problem is twofold: electricity demand in the U.S. is not growing and natural gas, which can be burned to generate electricity, is cheap. As a result, utilities are building more natural gasburning turbines rather than more expensive nuclear power plants.
Nuclear Reactor Approved in U.S. for First Time Since 1978: Scientific American
-------------------------------------------------
Nuclear utilities in the U.S. will need to hire nearly 25,000 people to replace the 39 percent of its workforce that will be eligible for retirement by 2016, says Carol L. Berrigan, senior director for industry infrastructure for the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based trade group. Meanwhile, U.S. universities awarded a total of 715 graduate and undergraduate degrees in nuclear engineering in 2009, the most recent year for which data is available.
A Labor Shortage for U.S. Nuclear Plants - Businessweek
-----------------------------------------------
http://www.new.ans.org/pi/ps/docs/ps29.pdf
---------------------------------------------
Unfortunately, nuclear engineering and nuclear power plants are come under the authority of the government. Something Republicans want to shrink so small they can drown it in a bathtub. It's also part of "infrastructure". Something Republicans will never support. Can only be built by engineers and scientists, people Republicans feel are elitist, over educated and "Education is for snobs". Which means the only people who will be able to build these facilities are "immigrants", people they will never accept.
Once I pointed out that government inspectors at nuclear power plants need to be either an engineer or scientist. A right winger on this very board ask, "Why? As long as they have a check list?" If that were the criteria, then perhaps a kitchen inspector is "good enough"?