5 ms·

Because lobby groups for environmentalism/green energy are stuck in the Cold War mentality that anything nuclear is bringing forth the apocalypse.

gedy 5y ago
Nuclear is (one of) the new invisible demons flying around to be afraid of.
- TrispusAttucks 5y ago
  It's an old demon. Ironically it's one of the few things that could have prevented our current climate crisis. A great tragedy of human hubris.
  - dehrmann 5y ago
    It's more throwing the baby out with the bathwater than hubris.
    - TrispusAttucks 5y ago
      hu·bris (noun) excessive pride or self-confidence -- I'd say it fits but yours [1] is a better known characterization. I was using it in the tradition of [2] Greek Tragedy Hubris. "The overbearing pride which leads humans to follow paths or projects which lead to certain self-destruction." [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_throw_the_baby_out_wit... [2] http://theatreofancientgreece.blogspot.com/2014/11/hubris-or-hybris.html http://theatreofancientgreece.blogspot.com/2014/11/hubris-or...?
- vnchr 5y ago
  It powers evil Bitcoin mining
- andbberger 5y ago
  it's not though. fear of flying is common enough but people accept that's not backed up the statistics. nuclear energy is in the same camp. it is objectively the safest method for power generation
epistasis 5y ago
This is not why the plant is being shut down. It is reaching end of life, which means that if it wants an renewal on its license, it needs to come into compliance with modern environmental laws. The key violation for the current plant is its cooling system, which uses once through sea water. To limit the damage to the environment, a modern cooling system would need to be built. When PG&E took bids for new cooling systems, all designs had a construction cost of many billions. Rather than pay for such an expensive upgrade, PG&E made the wise decision to spend that money on cheaper replacements. The problem is that despite having a decade to get things in order, they haven't yet done met the capacity needs for the rest of the state, much less for this capacity retirement.

gedy 5y ago

Nuclear is (one of) the new invisible demons flying around to be afraid of.

TrispusAttucks 5y ago
It's an old demon. Ironically it's one of the few things that could have prevented our current climate crisis. A great tragedy of human hubris.
- dehrmann 5y ago
  It's more throwing the baby out with the bathwater than hubris.
  - TrispusAttucks 5y ago
    hu·bris (noun) excessive pride or self-confidence -- I'd say it fits but yours [1] is a better known characterization. I was using it in the tradition of [2] Greek Tragedy Hubris. "The overbearing pride which leads humans to follow paths or projects which lead to certain self-destruction." [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_throw_the_baby_out_with_the_bathwater https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_throw_the_baby_out_wit... [2] http://theatreofancientgreece.blogspot.com/2014/11/hubris-or-hybris.html http://theatreofancientgreece.blogspot.com/2014/11/hubris-or...?
vnchr 5y ago
It powers evil Bitcoin mining
andbberger 5y ago
it's not though. fear of flying is common enough but people accept that's not backed up the statistics. nuclear energy is in the same camp. it is objectively the safest method for power generation

epistasis 5y ago

This is not why the plant is being shut down. It is reaching end of life, which means that if it wants an renewal on its license, it needs to come into compliance with modern environmental laws. The key violation for the current plant is its cooling system, which uses once through sea water. To limit the damage to the environment, a modern cooling system would need to be built. When PG&E took bids for new cooling systems, all designs had a construction cost of many billions. Rather than pay for such an expensive upgrade, PG&E made the wise decision to spend that money on cheaper replacements. The problem is that despite having a decade to get things in order, they haven't yet done met the capacity needs for the rest of the state, much less for this capacity retirement.