3 ms·
I have a different sort of fear from nuclear that's a little more nuanced. Earlier this year, in Finland, one of the coldest places, a nuclear power plant had
by mempko 8y ago
I have a different sort of fear from nuclear that's a little more nuanced.
Earlier this year, in Finland, one of the coldest places, a nuclear power plant had to reduce it's output (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finland-nuclear-fortum-oyj/warm-sea-water-in-finland-caused-capacity-reduction-in-loviisa-nuclear-plant-idUSKBN1KF2CO https://www.reuters.com/article/us-finland-nuclear-fortum-oy...) because the sea waters got too warm.
It's apparent that the planet is warming and my fear is if we pass the tipping point, nuclear simply won't be an option. Both sea level rise and warming waters may make much of the nuclear power plants unusable.
However, the real danger is even more stark, which is if we pass the tipping point, I expect it will be very hard for humanity to have organized human life at the scale that we have now, and when nation states begin to fail, who will maintain existing power plants? Who will take the many decades to decommission them if they can't be maintained?
- ams6110 8y agoPessimists have had this idea that humanity is on the tipping point of collapse for centuries. Progress has been uneven, but the track record is that we do manage to solve problems, advance, and improve our standard of living over the long term.
- mempko 8y agoI'm not a pessimist, the tipping point from climate change is a real concern among scientists and prominent people in our field. Many believe we are only decades from it but there is uncertainty around it. It's not that the tipping point isn't a real possibility, it's that there is uncertainty about the scale and speed of changes, and when such a tipping point can happen. Relevant section from the IPCC. https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch2s2-2-3.html https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch2s2-2... This is also a belief from prominent members of our field like Alan Kay, who helped write Transitions and Tipping Points in Complex Environmental Systems(https://www.nsf.gov/ere/ereweb/ac-ere/nsf6895_ere_report_090809.pdf https://www.nsf.gov/ere/ereweb/ac-ere/nsf6895_ere_report_090...) Are you aware of these arguments? And do you have anything better to counter them than saying "People have been spelling the doom of humanity for centuries!" ?