Chernbyl

[brads70]

As many of my friends point out to me, I tend to have harsh yet practical solutions to problems like this. I would require any company that wants to build a nuke plant to have at least one of its officers and his or her family living within a quarter mile of the plant. They'll be built well.

 

[dodj]

I find it quite amusing when folks say "clean coal". It's like saying "free energy" or "military intelligence".

Yep folks look it up it's called an oxymoron!

 

I have heard we have over 600 years worth of coal deposits in N. America. While traditional methods of use are 'dirty', I would think that with some research, we could devise a clean method of using coal.
Worth looking into since we have so much of it. 

[torredcuda]

Seabrook power plant is near me and I drive by within less than a mile of it going o work. The odds of a disaster are probably the same as crashing in a plane = very slim but I wouldn`t want to be in the plane or near the Nuc plant when either happens. The scary thing is during the summer the traffic to and from the beach is horible. Thousands trying to leave the beach on a hot day can take 2-3 hours to go a couple miles but they have an evacuation plan they think will work - how?

[HP_Cuda]

I don't doubt this but as of today it's an oxymoron.

Problem is how much energy do you want to expend to make more energy - that is the real problem.

I have heard we have over 600 years worth of coal deposits in N. America. While traditional methods of use are 'dirty', I would think that with some research, we could devise a clean method of using coal.
Worth looking into since we have so much of it. 

[sprecks]

I have worked in nuclear power for almost 40 years and one thing I have learned is you can't argue with the ignorant. Gumby do not believe much of what the sensationalism seeking liberal media prints. Most of the "facts" you have posted are simply not true. Chernobyl used a graphite moderator which caught fire. U.S. reactors use water for a moderator. Chernobyl had no containment building. Three Mile Island melted over a third of their core and released minimal amounts of radiation that harmed no one. You don't know what you are talking about. Just the fact that you resorted to name calling shows the level of your maturity and thus the level of seriousness one should give to your childish rantings.  If you are so concerned you should stop using electricity because every single source causes harm and potential harm to the environment. It's the price we pay.

I too have been working in the nuke business for nearly 40 years. Like 71chmark said some people are ignorant about nuclear power. This has always been since the beginning of civilian nuclear power plants. The whole industry in the US should have done a better job of educating the general public. I remember many years ago I was in Europe and walked into a bank to exchange some money. I was surprised to see on the wall of the bank a diagram explain the working of a nuclear power plant. If this approach would have been taken here maybe people wouldn't be so scared of it.

[sprecks]

I don't doubt this but as of today it's an oxymoron.

Problem is how much energy do you want to expend to make more energy - that is the real problem.

Clean coal isn't as far fetched as you might imagine. They already have installed "scrubbers" on many coal plants. They are very pricey but keep the emissions down to very low levels. They are basically a large high efficiency filter that is put on the exhaust stack.

[HP_Cuda]

We could have used this long ago.... reminds me of a song called acid rain....

Clean coal isn't as far fetched as you might imagine. They already have installed "scrubbers" on many coal plants. They are very pricey but keep the emissions down to very low levels. They are basically a large high efficiency filter that is put on the exhaust stack.

[jimynick]

An interesting thread. Since reality indicates that there will not be a slackening in power demand and nuclear is "cleaner" than the demon petrochemical, would it be fair to say that in future, when there's a demonstration against nuclear, that those areas be the first to be shut off? There was also a comment about killing birds with windmills. I've been in Holland, a few times, and specifically down the north Atlantic coast where there's 100's if not 1000's of them and I didn't see ONE dead bird, migratory or not and there was also NO residue to contend with. The answer, is to put our money into the development of fusion where water is the fuel and there is no residue. A fusion reactor would also be capable of re-burning the current piles of nuclear waste with the side benefit of telling the arabs to stick their oil in a spot where the sun doesn't shine AND be clean enough to make the tree huggers wet their pants. Win-win, but a LOT of money to get there. Personally, as long as there's enough gas to drive my Challenger if and when I ever get it done, I don't overly care. Cheers! 

[msbaugh]

I'm a little biased, this argument will last forever, but I say drill!!! ...Hell, The Shell Thunder Horse and Chevron Jack Saint Malo deep water platforms will both (individually) produce more energy than all of the renewable energy sources in ALL of the United States combined this year. It just needs to be done responsibly and sensibly, I think we can all agree on that right? Same thing with drilling as is with Nuclear energy. It's spelled NuCLEAR for a reason isn't it?.... that is assuming accidents don't happen. Lol.

There is a reason the petro-chemical industry is the most heavily regulated industry in our country. It can be deadly if it is done irresponsibly. We all saw what happened with BP Macando and Fukushima. That's what we have regulation for, to guide us. Unfortunately, our politicians (including our current administration) and the public (like many of you here) seem to forget that. Regulatory laws aren't here to eliminate or stifle operations, they are here to push for innovation and to drive new unexplored technology. They are here to makes these energy sources more reliable, safe, and efficient. We need to quit exploring ways to eliminate these things and start exploring ways to make them better. (This is coming from a Chemical Process Safety Engineer). What this country needs is an attitude change!

[Gumby]

Yes..an unorganized rant, and therefore the "joke" about the vodka....

I'm a complete idiot, and i will be the first to admit it. I'm sorry about my poor spelling and subsequint rant. (poor spelling on that as well) I was just trying to bring something interesting to the forum. Maybe something that people didn't know about. That's all. I'm sorry I attacked you. i took it the wrong way, I guess, but that is no excuse. Dude, that pic that Dutch put up, that is what i was talking about. I was trying for brevity on my description. I can get long winded, like right now. That is why I just tried to put snapshots of the documentary, wordwise, up. I can ramble on for hours. I was trying to give a brief synopsis of the events. If I would have given an entire review - THEN I could see the vodka connection. That's all. I was trying to keep it as brief as possible. I didn't mean to sound like a drunken rambler, but I didn't wan't to bore everyone with a long drawn out post like this. I hope that you understand. I'm sorry that 

[Gumby]

I'm a little biased, this argument will last forever, but I say drill!!! ...Hell, The Shell Thunder Horse and Chevron Jack Saint Malo deep water platforms will both (individually) produce more energy than all of the renewable energy sources in ALL of the United States combined this year. It just needs to be done responsibly and sensibly, I think we can all agree on that right? Same thing with drilling as is with Nuclear energy. It's spelled NuCLEAR for a reason isn't it?.... that is assuming accidents don't happen. Lol.

There is a reason the petro-chemical industry is the most heavily regulated industry in our country. It can be deadly if it is done irresponsibly. We all saw what happened with BP Macando and Fukushima. That's what we have regulation for, to guide us. Unfortunately, our politicians (including our current administration) and the public (like many of you here) seem to forget that. Regulatory laws aren't here to eliminate or stifle operations, they are here to push for innovation and to drive new unexplored technology. They are here to makes these energy sources more reliable, safe, and efficient. We need to quit exploring ways to eliminate these things and start exploring ways to make them better. (This is coming from a Chemical Process Safety Engineer). What this country needs is an attitude change!

It seems, at this time, that all of the coal plants are being converted over to natural gas plants. natural gas is cheap. until all of the plants are converted over, then it will be like anything else. I swear to you, and gaurentee to you, that once they have a captive market, it will skyrocket. it is what it is. Just like obamacare. promise them cheap stuff, then quadruple it! LALA HAHA roflmao, LOL. It's how it works. Less for MORE.

[hemiken]

HI Gumby,  glad to see you back buddy

[HP_Cuda]

Seeing as my father worked on Diablo Canyon for many years with Pigs Goats and Elephants. I see Nuclear power is a very viable avenue but unfortunately as a society we don't think of things cradle to grave. We already have issues with waste disposal after the rods are spent. If we actually put some thought into it this too can be accomplished but for gods sake please don't keep kicking the can down the road like our politicians.

 

[sprecks]

Seeing as my father worked on Diablo Canyon for many years with Pigs Goats and Elephants. I see Nuclear power is a very viable avenue but unfortunately as a society we don't think of things cradle to grave. We already have issues with waste disposal after the rods are spent. If we actually put some thought into it this too can be accomplished but for gods sake please don't keep kicking the can down the road like our politicians.

 

There actually was some thought put into waste disposal.
For years, every nuclear power plant was required to contribute large sums of money to the government to help build a nuclear depository. This was what you may have heard of as Yucca Mountain out in Nevada. This was a major project and millions were spent building this huge vault under a mountain out in the Nevada desert. Harry Reid was all for this because it created many jobs for his Nevada constituents. Then it became time to actually start shipping the waste to this facility and Harry Reid raised hell because he didn't want all that waste in his state. Strange how it was a good thing until someone actually wanted to use it. Another broken government promise and waste of money.

[ChallengerHK]

Most people are unaware of this, but Casino, the Martin Scorcese movie, is closely based on real events. The corrupt politician played by Tommy Smothers is based on Harry Reid.