4 ms·

We observe the power of a carbon tax

lucb1e 7y ago
I'm also surprised how much of a difference nuclear can make. I mean, I know that nuclear is great as a stopgap until we build solar panels that we can actually recycle and install all the wind farms, etc. But the trouble is that a nuclear plant takes 30 years to build and for the public's opinion we might as well be proposing to move their backyards to a high tsunami risk zone or repeating all the actions that led up to the Chernobyl disaster. I've given up on this happening. Can it still make such a big difference, even if we only start building today? It makes me wonder if I shouldn't be giving up on the option of nuclear.
- DennisP 7y ago
  > a nuclear plant takes 30 years to build Only if your country isn't serious about it. South Korea builds modern nuclear plants in about five years: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2027347/south-korea-second-fastest-nuclear-plant-building-country https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2027347/south-korea-s...
  - lucb1e 7y ago
    Oh, wow, okay. That changes the perspective quite a bit. Thanks!
    - mlyle 7y ago
      There's a lot of issues with depending upon solely nuclear to solve these problems, but I'd like to see nuclear in the mix. Unlike the MIT model, components of electric generation are not simple linear systems that exhibit the superposition principle. Renewables need a whole lot of moderate-term storage and over-provisioning to get to where we want to be, and nuclear could help ease that by providing a source of dependable base load. If we're transitioning to electric cars and homes away from gas heat, we need a whole lot of power in the middle of the night-- where photovoltaic doesn't help and wind can be iffy for days at a time.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
- zamadatix 7y ago
  Nuclear plants take 5-10 years to build. 30 is how long it's been since public opinion in the US allowed for them to be built regularly.
nabla9 7y ago
If well implemented, the steering effect for economy from billions of people trying to avoid the cost of carbon at the same time would be immense.

I'm also surprised how much of a difference nuclear can make. I mean, I know that nuclear is great as a stopgap until we build solar panels that we can actually recycle and install all the wind farms, etc. But the trouble is that a nuclear plant takes 30 years to build and for the public's opinion we might as well be proposing to move their backyards to a high tsunami risk zone or repeating all the actions that led up to the Chernobyl disaster. I've given up on this happening. Can it still make such a big difference, even if we only start building today? It makes me wonder if I shouldn't be giving up on the option of nuclear.

DennisP 7y ago
> a nuclear plant takes 30 years to build Only if your country isn't serious about it. South Korea builds modern nuclear plants in about five years: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2027347/south-korea-second-fastest-nuclear-plant-building-country https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/2027347/south-korea-s...
- lucb1e 7y ago
  Oh, wow, okay. That changes the perspective quite a bit. Thanks!
  - mlyle 7y ago
    There's a lot of issues with depending upon solely nuclear to solve these problems, but I'd like to see nuclear in the mix. Unlike the MIT model, components of electric generation are not simple linear systems that exhibit the superposition principle. Renewables need a whole lot of moderate-term storage and over-provisioning to get to where we want to be, and nuclear could help ease that by providing a source of dependable base load. If we're transitioning to electric cars and homes away from gas heat, we need a whole lot of power in the middle of the night-- where photovoltaic doesn't help and wind can be iffy for days at a time.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
zamadatix 7y ago
Nuclear plants take 5-10 years to build. 30 is how long it's been since public opinion in the US allowed for them to be built regularly.

nabla9 7y ago

If well implemented, the steering effect for economy from billions of people trying to avoid the cost of carbon at the same time would be immense.