Nuclear power and bureaucracy - Page 2

Stan4dSteph · 08-09-2005, 03:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

We only get around 20% of our electricity from nuclear power. Even with waste issues it is by far the least polluting option for electricity.

Nope. Think wind.

Not Afraid · 08-09-2005, 03:26 PM

Although, I have heard people opposing wind power because it polutes our surroundings with those eyesore windmills. Also, so much more space is needed to generate the same amount of electricity put out by a nuc plant. But, I agree, on a general waste production level, it generates the least.

Ghoulish Delight · 08-09-2005, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Although, I have heard people opposing wind power because it polutes our surroundings with those eyesore windmills. Also, so much more space is needed to generate the same amount of electricity put out by a nuc plant. But, I agree, on a general waste production level, it generates the least.

I wonder how much of that is offset by operations necessities when looked at from a per kilowatt perspective. With the vast discrepancy between the amount of power output of wind vs. nuclear, as well as the physical size, I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of polution caused by things like maintanance vehicles (which, due to the expansive fields of wind generators would need to do a lot of driving) as a proportion of the amount of electricity produced actually aproaches the proportion of waste to energy that a nuclear plant produces. I could be wrong, but soemthing tells me the gap isn't quite as big, or easy to quantify, as one might think.

scaeagles · 08-09-2005, 05:55 PM

I've also read that certain environmental groups are up in tizzy regarding wind power because the wind farms have a tendency to kill thousands of birds annually.

€uroMeinke · 08-09-2005, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Ick. I am so freakin' sick of bureaucracy like that. I program stuff for government contractor, and since Enron, so much stuff has been passed to prevent fraud that I now spend around 40% of my time on bureaucratic record keeping. It's enough to make look for other employment (well, almost).

heh heh - yup that's my bread and butter. Thanks to those guys at Enron I get to tell my CEO how I keep him and the rest of the execs out of jail in my elevator spiel.

€uroMeinke · 08-09-2005, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaeagles

I've also read that certain environmental groups are up in tizzy regarding wind power because the wind farms have a tendency to kill thousands of birds annually.

Yes, so I suppose to heaps of dead migratory birds (carrying avian flu?) might be considered "waste."

Keelboat Captain · 08-10-2005, 01:57 AM

Having worked in nuclear power in the Navy, (nothing fancy I was just a Radiological Gage Calibration Technician for the Subs in Pearl Harbor 1990 -1994) I have long thought the use of nuclear power was our best choice for the majority of our power needs. What bothers me is the staling of the storage facility in Nevada. Don’t people know where it is being stored in the mean time? How come we can not just call it a 10,000 year temporary storage, and give science a crack at an improved disposal process between now and then.

scaeagles · 08-10-2005, 06:14 AM

Wendybeth may have heard of her, but the former head of the US nuclear regulatory commission and former governor of Washington State - one Dixie Lee Ray (no longer living) - had some really interesting theories and scientific data regarding disposal of nuclear waste. Anyone interested can read the book "trashing the planet".

wendybeth · 08-10-2005, 10:51 AM

My mom used to be very active in politics (she worked for Tom Foley and Scoop Jackson) and knew Dixie very well.

innerSpaceman · 08-10-2005, 04:05 PM

Hmmm, I wonder if wind plants make attractive targets for terrorism? Or if coal facilities go practically unprotected against attack?

Get my drift about why nuclear power is unsafe in today's climate, for different reasons than it was in yesterday's climate? In 20 years, it will be unacceptably dangerous for a different reason. Something which has the power to destroy life in such a calamatous manner will NEVER be safe.

08-09-2005, 03:26 PM	#12
Not Afraid HI! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 17,108	Although, I have heard people opposing wind power because it polutes our surroundings with those eyesore windmills. Also, so much more space is needed to generate the same amount of electricity put out by a nuc plant. But, I agree, on a general waste production level, it generates the least.
	Submit to Quotes

08-09-2005, 05:55 PM	#14
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	I've also read that certain environmental groups are up in tizzy regarding wind power because the wind farms have a tendency to kill thousands of birds annually.
	Submit to Quotes

08-10-2005, 01:57 AM	#17
Keelboat Captain I Hate Mornings! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Highland, CA Posts: 13	Having worked in nuclear power in the Navy, (nothing fancy I was just a Radiological Gage Calibration Technician for the Subs in Pearl Harbor 1990 -1994) I have long thought the use of nuclear power was our best choice for the majority of our power needs. What bothers me is the staling of the storage facility in Nevada. Don’t people know where it is being stored in the mean time? How come we can not just call it a 10,000 year temporary storage, and give science a crack at an improved disposal process between now and then.
	Submit to Quotes

08-10-2005, 06:14 AM	#18
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	Wendybeth may have heard of her, but the former head of the US nuclear regulatory commission and former governor of Washington State - one Dixie Lee Ray (no longer living) - had some really interesting theories and scientific data regarding disposal of nuclear waste. Anyone interested can read the book "trashing the planet".
	Submit to Quotes

08-10-2005, 10:51 AM	#19
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	My mom used to be very active in politics (she worked for Tom Foley and Scoop Jackson) and knew Dixie very well. __________________
	Submit to Quotes

08-10-2005, 04:05 PM	#20
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Hmmm, I wonder if wind plants make attractive targets for terrorism? Or if coal facilities go practically unprotected against attack? Get my drift about why nuclear power is unsafe in today's climate, for different reasons than it was in yesterday's climate? In 20 years, it will be unacceptably dangerous for a different reason. Something which has the power to destroy life in such a calamatous manner will NEVER be safe.
	Submit to Quotes