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Similar sentiments have been showing up in many venues lately. I suspect this is an oil company campaign aimed at damaging renewables. We saw a similar campaign

by orev 4y ago

Similar sentiments have been showing up in many venues lately. I suspect this is an oil company campaign aimed at damaging renewables. We saw a similar campaign about how “bad” wind turbine blades are for birds, and also that disposing the blades was such a “big” problem. Every energy source has consequences. We need to pick the ones that are less bad. Having a pile of waste in landfills seems infinitely better than roasting the whole planet to the point of it being unlivable by humans.

willnonya 4y ago
- kelnos 4y ago
  Until the nuclear waste disposal problem has been solved (actually solved, not "we know how to do it but haven't yet"), I don't think you can call nuclear "clean". Beyond that, there are still valid safety and security concerns that people like you seem to enjoy hand-waving away. I agree that there's a lot of irrational fear around nuclear, but claiming that nuclear is 100% safe is also irrational. I would much rather have nuclear instead of fossil fuel burning, but renewables are even better. The article even admits that solar panels can be recycled, just that most end up in landfills.
  - taxyz 4y ago
    Almost everything written is here is so wrong its hard to begin picking this apart. Nuclear is largely/completely safe in the developed/not-shitty-communist-Russia world. There have been 3 civilian/peace-time nuclear disasters: Chernobyl (USSR), Three Mile Island (USA), Fukushima (Japan). The death toll for Three Mile Island is 0, and for Fukushima its currently 1 (due to radiation) and even that death is being disputed in Japanese courts so it may be 0 as well. This is over decades in which large parts of the world are still running reactors developed in the 1960's and 1970's. More workers have died installing residential solar last year in the US than the total deaths from constructing/running/and dealing with nuclear meltdowns in the history of nuclear power in the US combined; and the number of deaths per 100,000 rooftops workers is rising by double digit percentages as rooftop solar becomes more popular. Current generation reactors produce significantly less waste and modern material science has come a long way in terms of long term storage. Which speaking of hand-waving, you seem to be hand waving away what to do about the toxic waste that results from both the manufacture and disposal of solar panels. The claim that they can be recycled but aren't is the same argument you are saying nuclear advocates make ("we know how to do it but haven't yet"). Lastly, I am not even sure how you go about justifying that renewables are far better when you consider the lifespan and power output from nuclear. This is the problem that renewable zealots cause in terms of solving long term energy needs. Renewables fall short in terms of being able to produce and transmit energy on demand, the manufacture, shipping, and disposal of a lot of renewables ends up with a higher carbon footprint per W of energy produced over their lifetime, and we are passing the cost of operating utilities directly to the consumer. Anyone who claims renewables are "ever better" than nuclear is not concerned above the environment, they just want to display their religious convictions about "green energy" - if you want to signal to your friends how dedicated you are forget the solar panels and just make sure to wear an AOC pin everywhere you go.
NovaVeles 4y ago
Spot on. I see these things poping up and it does look bad, but we have the remember that the current power system is worse.
bitcuration 4y ago
It may not be the oil industry, what's really going on right now is nuclear is making a comeback. The Renewable energy future may turn out have to be depending on it. Do people pay attention to how much it has cost of the electricity this summer? Without the battery technology there isn't much promise of the solar.
- orev 4y ago
  I find it equally suspicious that there’s such a number of pro nuclear posts here, given that nuclear has nothing to do with this. Seems like an astroturf campaign on its own, or at least people with zero insight into market dynamics. Nuclear has nothing to gain by smearing solar, and in fact benefits from solar, as it very much addresses the shortcomings of other renewables. Nuclear gains a lot by aligning itself as a renewable, and this stance has already been accepted by many people concerned about climate change.

by orev 4y ago

willnonya 4y ago

kelnos 4y ago
Until the nuclear waste disposal problem has been solved (actually solved, not "we know how to do it but haven't yet"), I don't think you can call nuclear "clean". Beyond that, there are still valid safety and security concerns that people like you seem to enjoy hand-waving away. I agree that there's a lot of irrational fear around nuclear, but claiming that nuclear is 100% safe is also irrational. I would much rather have nuclear instead of fossil fuel burning, but renewables are even better. The article even admits that solar panels can be recycled, just that most end up in landfills.
- taxyz 4y ago
  Almost everything written is here is so wrong its hard to begin picking this apart. Nuclear is largely/completely safe in the developed/not-shitty-communist-Russia world. There have been 3 civilian/peace-time nuclear disasters: Chernobyl (USSR), Three Mile Island (USA), Fukushima (Japan). The death toll for Three Mile Island is 0, and for Fukushima its currently 1 (due to radiation) and even that death is being disputed in Japanese courts so it may be 0 as well. This is over decades in which large parts of the world are still running reactors developed in the 1960's and 1970's. More workers have died installing residential solar last year in the US than the total deaths from constructing/running/and dealing with nuclear meltdowns in the history of nuclear power in the US combined; and the number of deaths per 100,000 rooftops workers is rising by double digit percentages as rooftop solar becomes more popular. Current generation reactors produce significantly less waste and modern material science has come a long way in terms of long term storage. Which speaking of hand-waving, you seem to be hand waving away what to do about the toxic waste that results from both the manufacture and disposal of solar panels. The claim that they can be recycled but aren't is the same argument you are saying nuclear advocates make ("we know how to do it but haven't yet"). Lastly, I am not even sure how you go about justifying that renewables are far better when you consider the lifespan and power output from nuclear. This is the problem that renewable zealots cause in terms of solving long term energy needs. Renewables fall short in terms of being able to produce and transmit energy on demand, the manufacture, shipping, and disposal of a lot of renewables ends up with a higher carbon footprint per W of energy produced over their lifetime, and we are passing the cost of operating utilities directly to the consumer. Anyone who claims renewables are "ever better" than nuclear is not concerned above the environment, they just want to display their religious convictions about "green energy" - if you want to signal to your friends how dedicated you are forget the solar panels and just make sure to wear an AOC pin everywhere you go.

NovaVeles 4y ago

Spot on. I see these things poping up and it does look bad, but we have the remember that the current power system is worse.

bitcuration 4y ago

It may not be the oil industry, what's really going on right now is nuclear is making a comeback. The Renewable energy future may turn out have to be depending on it. Do people pay attention to how much it has cost of the electricity this summer? Without the battery technology there isn't much promise of the solar.

orev 4y ago
I find it equally suspicious that there’s such a number of pro nuclear posts here, given that nuclear has nothing to do with this. Seems like an astroturf campaign on its own, or at least people with zero insight into market dynamics. Nuclear has nothing to gain by smearing solar, and in fact benefits from solar, as it very much addresses the shortcomings of other renewables. Nuclear gains a lot by aligning itself as a renewable, and this stance has already been accepted by many people concerned about climate change.