4 ms·

The lack of support for nuclear power is truly astounding, especially as we watch the slow motion car crash of climate change happening around us. It's obvious

The lack of support for nuclear power is truly astounding, especially as we watch the slow motion car crash of climate change happening around us. It's obviously unsurprising from anti-science Republicans, but the Democratic party as a whole should be deeply embarrassed that they're going toe to toe on irrationality with the other side on such an important issue.

vlozko 5y ago
Whatever Republican’s views are on climate change, they’ve been consistently pro nuclear power.
- kristofferR 5y ago
  Until Democrats' start supporting it, at least :/
  - hunterb123 5y ago
    Well we won't know until Democrats start supporting it...
    - t-3 5y ago
      I recall nuclear being part of Hillary Clinton's presidential platform, and Biden has mentioned it as well, though I'm not sure it's a priority for him. Lobbyists are more an issue than political parties when it comes to energy. Nuclear energy doesn't have a powerful lobbying arm like Big Oil, unless you count the military.
  - micromacrofoot 5y ago
    Won't really matter which party supports it because <50% of the population supports is
- elzbardico 5y ago
  Do they support it in their backyards? I do, but do they?
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Alupis 5y ago
    I have yet to hear an argument from a pro-nuclear power supporter that excluded building plants nearby. Conversely, we tend to see massive wind and solar farms built far away from the people most adamantly insisting they are the only green future...
  - thehappypm 5y ago
    New Hampshire (the most conservative state in New England, one of the most conservative states in the Northeast) has a nuclear reactor, placed near its extremely short coastline.
dantheman 5y ago
You need to stop thinking these parties make sense, both are pro science, both are anti-science. They're a random set of beliefs/agendas/policies that are not coherent. For instance, before covid democrats were the party of the anti-vaxxers. They don't represent the majority - their membership and approval has been declining. They're about power and directing money to their constituents.
kleer001 5y ago
I think it goes beyond political party. It sounds like a basic human level misunderstanding and lack of foresight. Also the understandable choice during the heyday to pick the one kind of nuclear power that created weapons as a by product. Unless I'm missing something. Is there a world-wide acceptance of nuclear power and only the USA is outstanding in their phobia? I honestly don't know, my understanding of world politics is a bit thin.
sebow 5y ago
What are you talking about? I've never seen republicans talk against nuclear, except maybe from those that are angry about the effects of previous environmental damage where exotic particles were found in food, soil, ended up in humans,etc. Not necessarily from nuclear sources though. In europe the vast majority of anti-nuclear rhetoric is coming from the left, especially in Germany.I would also bet this is the case in US, but never seen a good dataset made available on this topic.It's not really an anti-science position, because that would assume people are informed even in a non-scientific way,whereas the reality is that the vast majority of anti-nuclear folks are people who fear the "armageddon" from past tragic events, coinciding with the "end is near" climate doomsayers.You don't need a scientific understanding to assume those positions, sadly. Whatever the position one has,I think people should agree this is a shitshow and sadly it has turned into a political mess.Nuclear is the most green energy there is: it is efficient and the (unavoidable) waste is very localized,unlike solar/wind energy, where the downside effects are very hard to quantify, and only recently the scientific community was made aware that those are not without drawbacks.

vlozko 5y ago

Whatever Republican’s views are on climate change, they’ve been consistently pro nuclear power.

kristofferR 5y ago
Until Democrats' start supporting it, at least :/
- hunterb123 5y ago
  Well we won't know until Democrats start supporting it...
  - t-3 5y ago
    I recall nuclear being part of Hillary Clinton's presidential platform, and Biden has mentioned it as well, though I'm not sure it's a priority for him. Lobbyists are more an issue than political parties when it comes to energy. Nuclear energy doesn't have a powerful lobbying arm like Big Oil, unless you count the military.
- micromacrofoot 5y ago
  Won't really matter which party supports it because <50% of the population supports is
elzbardico 5y ago
Do they support it in their backyards? I do, but do they?
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Alupis 5y ago
  I have yet to hear an argument from a pro-nuclear power supporter that excluded building plants nearby. Conversely, we tend to see massive wind and solar farms built far away from the people most adamantly insisting they are the only green future...
- thehappypm 5y ago
  New Hampshire (the most conservative state in New England, one of the most conservative states in the Northeast) has a nuclear reactor, placed near its extremely short coastline.

dantheman 5y ago

You need to stop thinking these parties make sense, both are pro science, both are anti-science. They're a random set of beliefs/agendas/policies that are not coherent. For instance, before covid democrats were the party of the anti-vaxxers. They don't represent the majority - their membership and approval has been declining. They're about power and directing money to their constituents.

kleer001 5y ago

I think it goes beyond political party. It sounds like a basic human level misunderstanding and lack of foresight. Also the understandable choice during the heyday to pick the one kind of nuclear power that created weapons as a by product. Unless I'm missing something. Is there a world-wide acceptance of nuclear power and only the USA is outstanding in their phobia? I honestly don't know, my understanding of world politics is a bit thin.

sebow 5y ago

What are you talking about? I've never seen republicans talk against nuclear, except maybe from those that are angry about the effects of previous environmental damage where exotic particles were found in food, soil, ended up in humans,etc. Not necessarily from nuclear sources though. In europe the vast majority of anti-nuclear rhetoric is coming from the left, especially in Germany.I would also bet this is the case in US, but never seen a good dataset made available on this topic.It's not really an anti-science position, because that would assume people are informed even in a non-scientific way,whereas the reality is that the vast majority of anti-nuclear folks are people who fear the "armageddon" from past tragic events, coinciding with the "end is near" climate doomsayers.You don't need a scientific understanding to assume those positions, sadly. Whatever the position one has,I think people should agree this is a shitshow and sadly it has turned into a political mess.Nuclear is the most green energy there is: it is efficient and the (unavoidable) waste is very localized,unlike solar/wind energy, where the downside effects are very hard to quantify, and only recently the scientific community was made aware that those are not without drawbacks.