Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant (safety, trendy, title)

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Nuclear is scary. The sooner scientists are able to develop a workable nuclear fusion technology, the better. Not all nuke is bad, but nuke as we know it is problematic. Especially when built in seismically active areas. Or war-prone areas, not to mention any such areas specifically....

Ok but making decisions on how scary things are is usually a bad idea

[wac_432]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

What animals have solar arrays killed? Have you seen some of the land they "take up"? Take a spin through the Mojave Desert and other SW desert locales. Solar energy development is making the desert productive.

Lead and cadmium from the solar panels on your roof are currently accumulating in your body from the seafood you eat. Those panels were manufactured in China, where the heavy metals were dumped into rivers and made their way into the sea. If you eat processed fish sticks or other products with Chinese farmed fish (there's a lot of them), then the rate of accumulation is MUCH higher.

More will accumulate in later years as degraded solar arrays are disposed of improperly or landfills leak into our local water supplies.

Children and humans in general already are recommended to limit intake of seafood due to heavy metals from Coal-fired powerplants and the pollution from the manufacture of solar panels (among other things).

None of the U-235 stored in casks at Diablo is in your body. Not even trace amounts. There are trace amounts of radioactive materials present in Seafood from the Fukishima disaster, but the levels are so low (and the half-life is short enough that they are diminishing) that they pose no health risks.

If the world were powered by nuclear power, and we had a nuclear disaster at the historical rate (Chernobyl, 3-Mile, Fukishima) adjusted for additional power plants, we would all be significantly healthier and safer. If nuclear power had been adopted as (some) planned in the 1960's onward, climate change would be a much less pressing issue and the world would be much more electrified. Deployed at scale, Nuclear power is cheaper, more reliable, and less polluting than any other technology except for hydroelectric and possibly wind power.

It's a pity that people lack the critical thinking and analysis skills to overcome irrational--or at least exaggerated--fear of invisible radiation. Considering how much more dangerous and pervasive they are, I'm surprised that more people don't have similar fear of invisible chemical pollutants.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by wac_432

Lead and cadmium from the solar panels on your roof are currently accumulating in your body from the seafood you eat. Those panels were manufactured in China, where the heavy metals were dumped into rivers and made their way into the sea. If you eat processed fish sticks or other products with Chinese farmed fish (there's a lot of them), then the rate of accumulation is MUCH higher.

Interesting. I don't eat fish sticks or "other products with Chinese farmed fish", but still, it's a point.

Originally Posted by wac_432;

It's a pity that people lack the critical thinking and analysis skills to overcome irrational--or at least exaggerated--fear of invisible radiation. Considering how much more dangerous and pervasive they are, I'm surprised that more people don't have similar fear of invisible chemical pollutants.

Pity me. I'm pitiful and irrational. No, better yet, pity Tulemutt. He's asking for it.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by wac_432

Lead and cadmium from the solar panels on your roof are currently accumulating in your body from the seafood you eat. Those panels were manufactured in China, where the heavy metals were dumped into rivers and made their way into the sea. If you eat processed fish sticks or other products with Chinese farmed fish (there's a lot of them), then the rate of accumulation is MUCH higher.

More will accumulate in later years as degraded solar arrays are disposed of improperly or landfills leak into our local water supplies.

Children and humans in general already are recommended to limit intake of seafood due to heavy metals from Coal-fired powerplants and the pollution from the manufacture of solar panels (among other things).

None of the U-235 stored in casks at Diablo is in your body. Not even trace amounts. There are trace amounts of radioactive materials present in Seafood from the Fukishima disaster, but the levels are so low (and the half-life is short enough that they are diminishing) that they pose no health risks.

If the world were powered by nuclear power, and we had a nuclear disaster at the historical rate (Chernobyl, 3-Mile, Fukishima) adjusted for additional power plants, we would all be significantly healthier and safer. If nuclear power had been adopted as (some) planned in the 1960's onward, climate change would be a much less pressing issue and the world would be much more electrified. Deployed at scale, Nuclear power is cheaper, more reliable, and less polluting than any other technology except for hydroelectric and possibly wind power.

It's a pity that people lack the critical thinking and analysis skills to overcome irrational--or at least exaggerated--fear of invisible radiation. Considering how much more dangerous and pervasive they are, I'm surprised that more people don't have similar fear of invisible chemical pollutants.

As I wrote earlier, I don’t approve of any industrial energy production.

That said, the side of the debate you present relies on precedents… as opposed to potentials.

Every event of any kind, anywhere, any time, was once without precedent.

The potential damages from nuclear are not irrational. If they were, the IAEA and all of the nuclear energy scientists and engineers would have long ago indeed been able to develop and install nuclear plants around the world since the 1960s. Instead, the entire industry is burdened heavily by regulation out of caution.

So no, those scientists and engineers don’t “lack critical thinking or analytical skills” … and they aren’t one bit “irrational”. The fears are real and not exaggerated.

And we still don’t know how to dispose of the waste beyond stockpiling it.

[Tulemutt]

It’s not a debate because one side is smart and the other stupid. It’s a great debate because both sides offer rational arguments that the opposing views can’t simply dismiss … rationally.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Thekdog

Ok but making decisions on how scary things are is usually a bad idea

Really? That is a patently absurd assertion. If it were so, firearms wouldn’t be in demand for personal protection … people wouldn’t diversify their investments … smokers wouldn’t quit cigarettes … no one would wear life jackets when boating … beach goers would ignore shark sightings … mid-westerners wouldn’t worry about tornados

I could go on … forever …

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Really? That is a patently absurd assertion. If it were so, firearms wouldn’t be in demand for personal protection … people wouldn’t diversify their investments … smokers wouldn’t quit cigarettes … no one would wear life jackets when boating … beach goers would ignore shark sightings … mid-westerners wouldn’t worry about tornados

I could go on … forever …

A lot of people think investing any money in the stock market or getting in a boat is scary

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Thekdog

A lot of people think investing any money in the stock market or getting in a boat is scary

Yes. And that means what to my point? Others by the millions diversify investing and wear life jackets when boating precisely because they rightly are cautious based on fear of adverse consequences.

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Yes. And that means what to my point? Others by the millions diversify investing and wear life jackets when boating precisely because they rightly are cautious based on fear of adverse consequences.

My point is banning stuff because it sounds scary is a bad idea

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Thekdog

My point is banning stuff because it sounds scary is a bad idea

Lol. Not if it IS scary.