And just when do we get an operating fusion reactor? Do we just let China power theirs with all the wind and solar they are installing while we wait for fusion? Right now, the plans are for a lot more fission reactors in the US. But that is far slower to build than solar and wind.
Fujushima was a US design. And, since nukes require a large amount of water for cooling, they are located near water sources, like rivers. Rivers are prone to flooding, more so as the extreme weather events increase. Then there is the danger of dam failure.
"Floods from such natural weather events have caused problems at several U.S. nuclear power plants in recent years. In June 2011, unusually high water on the Missouri River, caused by a combination of heavy spring rains and Rocky Mountain snowmelt, inundated the Fort Calhoun plant in Nebraska. And in October 2012, flooding from Hurricane Sandy caused two New Jersey nuclear plants, Salem and Oyster Creek, to shut down when high water levels threatened their water intake and circulation systems.
Floods caused by dam failures
Not all floods that threaten nuclear reactors have natural causes, however. Many nuclear plants are situated near rivers, and some of them are downstream from a dam. When the dam fails, the resulting flood is sudden and can be catastrophic. Unlike river overflows or hurricanes, dam failures are likely to occur with little or no advance warning, leaving plant operators scrambling to protect their facilities before the floodwaters arrive, typically within hours."
Flood Risk at Nuclear Power Plants
Nuclear power plants need a plentiful source of water nearby for cooling. But this proximity to rivers, lakes and oceans creates serious flooding risks that the NRC has been too slow to address.www.ucs.org
About the same when you get to operate a useful battery.
What the hell do you do for a living? We now have battery operated tools, saw, impact wrenches, ect. All very much easier to use than the tools you had to drag an airline or extension cord to use. In an industrial setting, the kind I worked in for 56 years, that is a very big plus. Yes, we have vastly useful batteries. And now we are getting huge very useful grid scale batteries. Maybe you work where you just push a pencil, but for those of us that have worked on the factory floor, for the last ten years, batteries have been very useful.
General builder. I try to avoid battery tools where possible and some are duplicated, eg. battery angle grinder, corded angle grinder. Some tools I would never have in battery form eg. Mitre saw (chop saw), core dill, plunge saw, plaster mixer, thicknesser planer etc.. The reason? Batteries forever need charged, shite performance in the winter in maintaining charge, cost because they're a fortune, battery tools have less power. I predominantly own Makita tools but only 3 18v batteries, I won't entertain any more. I use battery tools mainly where a quick lightweight job needs done.
Most of my battery driven tools are 20 volt. Since I am retired now, I have not priced tools used in my trade for 5 years. I had a 1/2" impact and a 1/4" impact. The steel mill provided a 3/4" battery impact, and 1/2" battery drills. Tools I am interested in now are lapidary and other than a roto hammer, they are hardly amendable to being converted to batteries.
