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I chose to be a software developer because I was interested in creating things, but now I am just a cog in a machine trying to generate income. I don't doubt yo

I chose to be a software developer because I was interested in creating things, but now I am just a cog in a machine trying to generate income. I don't doubt your motives, but what is the situation we are currently in? Nuclear has failed to make a dent in emissions for 60 years now. Whatever the reason might be, rationally it's time to at least ask "can it ever make an impact"? But this question is almost never asked. I honestly believe there is a symbiotic relationship between nuclear and fossil fuel industry. Nuclear cannot survive without the threat of fossil fuels, but it cannot or at least has not for decades prevented fossil fuels dominating electricity production worldwide. So it's a guarantee for keeping the status quo. It's time for something else. Not merely another technology, but another way of thinking.

belorn 4y ago
I remember seeing that question for quite a long time, and the answer was that as long there is cheap access to fossil fuels and the population do not vote for carbon taxes and similar policies, then the answer is no. We will never see alternative technologies unless they can beat fossil fuel on price alone. The bet that the previous governments in EU made the last decades was to switch generation to wind and solar when weather condition makes it cheaper than natural gas, and then use natural gas (primarily bought from Russia) for everything else. When green hydrogen become cheaper than natural gas (estimated 2050-2080) we can start replace that natural gas with hydrogen. The big event that changed that was the invasion of Ukraine and the climbing prices of natural gas. The other way of thinking would be to consider other aspect than price. Those could be geopolitical, global warming, or pollution. I am however doubtful, and the events in EU this winter demonstrated how much citizen demanded government subsidizes and intervention when prices of energy went up. Energy prices are also tied to economic stability and growth, which makes changing the way people think difficult.
houseinthesky 4y ago
> Whatever the reason might be, rationally it's time to at least ask "can it ever make an impact"? The reason is because it's been denied a chance by government regulation, due to a mixture of fossil fuel lobbyists and people's irrational fears stoked by propaganda designed to make it seem scary. The answer to "can it ever make an impact" is yes, it can, using existing technology, right now. We just have to get rid of the regulations designed to destroy it.

belorn 4y ago

I remember seeing that question for quite a long time, and the answer was that as long there is cheap access to fossil fuels and the population do not vote for carbon taxes and similar policies, then the answer is no. We will never see alternative technologies unless they can beat fossil fuel on price alone. The bet that the previous governments in EU made the last decades was to switch generation to wind and solar when weather condition makes it cheaper than natural gas, and then use natural gas (primarily bought from Russia) for everything else. When green hydrogen become cheaper than natural gas (estimated 2050-2080) we can start replace that natural gas with hydrogen. The big event that changed that was the invasion of Ukraine and the climbing prices of natural gas. The other way of thinking would be to consider other aspect than price. Those could be geopolitical, global warming, or pollution. I am however doubtful, and the events in EU this winter demonstrated how much citizen demanded government subsidizes and intervention when prices of energy went up. Energy prices are also tied to economic stability and growth, which makes changing the way people think difficult.

houseinthesky 4y ago

> Whatever the reason might be, rationally it's time to at least ask "can it ever make an impact"? The reason is because it's been denied a chance by government regulation, due to a mixture of fossil fuel lobbyists and people's irrational fears stoked by propaganda designed to make it seem scary. The answer to "can it ever make an impact" is yes, it can, using existing technology, right now. We just have to get rid of the regulations designed to destroy it.