General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm going to say something that will label me crazy, foolish or misinformed.
Post Fukashima, I still support nuclear power as a major alternative to fossil fuels.
I said it.
And despite almost certainly being labelled crazy, foolish, and misinformed, I think I'm quite the opposite.
There are a LOT of contingencies I place on my support of course. It's not a blanket, "carte Blanche" form of support.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,308 posts)I understand your point of view pretty well. And up to a point, I agree.
There ARE problems, and they have not been adequately dealt with, up till now.
If we are to really use nuclear power, then it is essential that we make it safer.
applegrove
(118,022 posts)an environmentally safe alternative. Till my sister pointed out to me that spent fuel rods are waste and they stay dangerous for almost ever.
Igel
(35,197 posts)Process them to remove most of of the remaining fuel--spent fuel rods still contain most of their fuel. Reprocess them to remove some other useful stuff.
Reuse the inert materials, since they're already contaminated. This reduces the amount of waste by quite a bit.
Personally, I'd like to see the remaining radioactive bits encased in something stable and then dumped next to oceanic subduction zones. It may take a hundred thousand years before they're pulled under, but they'll go down.
RobertEarl
(13,685 posts)You should know that the former prime minister of Japan, Naoto Kan, who was PM during the Fukushima blow up, used to feel the same as you.
Used to. Having seen the damage up close and being made privy to more information than anyone of us will ever know, he now wants Japan to quit using any nuclear power whatsoever. So, there is that.
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)Japan has set itself back decades in its emissions goals. Job well done brave nuke-fighters.
safeinOhio
(32,532 posts)that insurance companies will insure the plants.
Union Scribe
(7,099 posts)Nuclear needs to be a part of the baseload electricity providers well into the future. And it will be. And we will have better reactors with even more passive safeties and better fuels. Thorium molten salt reactors, TRIGAs, modular fabrication, gen 3/3+, using both private and public research and development avenues.