Pro or Anti Nuclear
Poll: Pro or Anti Nuclear
Total Members Polled: 378
Discussion
Seems pretty straightforward to a lot of people in this day and age, but there are obviously a lot of people who still harbour reservations. I'm wondering what people's views are on here about Nuclear powerstations. Even if you are happy for them to go ahead are you a NIMBY? Personally I think I fall into that catagory, as long as they build them away from me, build as many as you like and reduce my electric bill!
merc_man said:
You haven't mentioned if this is fission of fusion. Fairly sure we could have a workable fusion solution if only the collective governments of the world would plough money into that rather than invading small countries for fossil fuels.
Yeah that would be a great idea wouldnt it !!http://www.jet.efda.org/
http://www.ukaea.org.uk/news/2006/21_11_06-2.shtml
I think unless everyone is prepared to turn back the clock 200 years and live by candle light then the construction of new nuclear power stations is essential. Renewables can only ever be part of the solution.
Given that the NIMBYs also complain about wind turbines and solar panels on listed buildings, I think you have to accept you can't please all of the people all of the time.
I also think that technology has moved on sufficiently since the 1950s to address the many safety concerns that people have. Admittedly the waste nuclear materials remains a major point of objection for many.
Given that the NIMBYs also complain about wind turbines and solar panels on listed buildings, I think you have to accept you can't please all of the people all of the time.
I also think that technology has moved on sufficiently since the 1950s to address the many safety concerns that people have. Admittedly the waste nuclear materials remains a major point of objection for many.
I live right by a coal/gas power station. On the one hand i like the idea - no towers pumping crap into the atmosphere etc, but at the same time there is always the worries about safety in the back of your mind. Therefore i'm somewhere in the middle. If the station near me was to be replaced with a nuclear one, i would probably move away.
I'm certainly pro nuclear. It is the only real way we can supply relatively cheap, clean and plentiful power to the nation. Currently our energy needs are increasing and we don't have the capacity to supply them. If nothing is done now, Britain will suffer power shortages.
The problem with nuclear energy is that you have the environmentalists and those that don't really know what they are talking about screaming and shouting and jumping up and down. People remember Chernobyl, what people don't realise is that Chernobyl was a first generation Soviet reactor design that wasn't fail safe and was operating under poor safety conditions.
In the west we don't operate reactors like that, and new reactor designs are failsafe. A Chernobyl style accident can't happen.
Then there is the issue of waste, we could utilise Fast Breeder reactors that actually produce their own fuel, on the face of it, this makes sense, until you realise that the fuel can be used in nuclear weapons and they go against the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty... The waste can be treated and stored, so far this is still the only big negative.
The long and short of it is that we cannot keep relying on the Middle East and Russia for our energy needs, Russia especially likes to turn off the taps when they feel like they should get more money.
Overall Nuclear is cost effective, and plentiful and without it we're buggered.
The problem with nuclear energy is that you have the environmentalists and those that don't really know what they are talking about screaming and shouting and jumping up and down. People remember Chernobyl, what people don't realise is that Chernobyl was a first generation Soviet reactor design that wasn't fail safe and was operating under poor safety conditions.
In the west we don't operate reactors like that, and new reactor designs are failsafe. A Chernobyl style accident can't happen.
Then there is the issue of waste, we could utilise Fast Breeder reactors that actually produce their own fuel, on the face of it, this makes sense, until you realise that the fuel can be used in nuclear weapons and they go against the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty... The waste can be treated and stored, so far this is still the only big negative.
The long and short of it is that we cannot keep relying on the Middle East and Russia for our energy needs, Russia especially likes to turn off the taps when they feel like they should get more money.
Overall Nuclear is cost effective, and plentiful and without it we're buggered.
Edited by bob1179 on Wednesday 6th August 09:42
I suspect the nuclear power is inevitable with the current attempts to reduce the country's CO2 output. I don't think we should generate all our power from fission though, we need a variety of sources.
For what it's worth, nuclear power stations in the past have been a very expensive way to generate electricity when plant decommissioning costs are taken into account. New generations of power stations should be better, but nuclear is far from a "cheap" solution.
I would hope that the government doesn't put one penny of tax payers' money into it (at least beyond making sure that the power companies' invest enough money to pay for the decommissioning costs). Power generation should be a 100% commercial activity. Sadly I suspect that we'll end up paying for our electricity through taxation though...
For what it's worth, nuclear power stations in the past have been a very expensive way to generate electricity when plant decommissioning costs are taken into account. New generations of power stations should be better, but nuclear is far from a "cheap" solution.
I would hope that the government doesn't put one penny of tax payers' money into it (at least beyond making sure that the power companies' invest enough money to pay for the decommissioning costs). Power generation should be a 100% commercial activity. Sadly I suspect that we'll end up paying for our electricity through taxation though...
Edited by kambites on Wednesday 6th August 09:44
k it up though and it ends up costing the tax payer a fortune.HundredthIdiot said:
randomman said:
build as many as you like and reduce my electric bill!
You think nuclear is cheap?You get more reliable constant energy from nuclear too...
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