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Stop perpetuating these ignorant myths about nuclear energy. Radioactive waste is radioactive because it still has stuff in it that can be refined into usable

Stop perpetuating these ignorant myths about nuclear energy. Radioactive waste is radioactive because it still has stuff in it that can be refined into usable fuel ore for further use. The reason this was not done was because it was cheaper to mine new ore than refine older waste. This is quickly changing. When uranium pellets are used up they become depleted uranium and have industrial uses as ballests, armor, or (controversially) as weapons. These are about as dangerous as lead. Don't eat them but can be safely held on your hand or buried with minimum danger. Nuclear power is our path to a green future and people like you spreading ignorance are why countries like Germany are now dependent on despotic totalitarian regimes.

tomschwiha 3y ago
Why not solar? Wind energy? Investing into improving those technologies and improving battery capacity is imho the green future.
- opo 3y ago
  If Germany were to rely just on solar and wind, the low capacity factor would likely require massive grid storage. The only large scale grid storage we have at this point is pumped hydro and that isn't scalable. For example, one estimate is that for Germany to rely only on solar and wind would require about 6,000 pumped storage plants which is literally 183 times their current capacity. If making more grid storage was cheap and easy, we would have built it decades ago. This is why Germany is still burning so much coal. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/144985/1/cesifo1_wp5950.pdf https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/144985/1/cesifo1_wp5...
- freitzkriesler2 3y ago
  What happens when the sun does sign? What happens when the wind doesnt blow? What happens when power demand rises and drops throughout the day? Solar and wind cannot support a base load period. Battery tech is great and believe me it's cool but lithium ion batteries have been in place since the 70s and the chemistry hasn't improved. Instead of sitting on our hands with a thumb up the bum, waiting for breakthroughs that never come, we have solutions today that work and should be leveraged before those gains in chemical engineering and material science happen.
tharmas 3y ago
Nuclear power is still expensive because those power plants have to be absolutely safe. They have to meet stringent safety standards making them expensive to build. Otherwise you get another Chernobyl.
- freitzkriesler2 3y ago
  Another red herring. Chernobyl had several design flaws in its RMBK reactors and what caused the melt down was operating it in a way that it was not designed for so a commie could look good for his bosses. Modern reactors are far more resilient and safe. The reason building new reactors is so expensive comes down to the permitting and license process. Building is easy, dealing with the $300/hr lawyers and regulatory overhead that makes bringing new reactors online is why it's so expensive. You want to know who has the safest track record of nuclear reactor operation? The navy.

tomschwiha 3y ago

Why not solar? Wind energy? Investing into improving those technologies and improving battery capacity is imho the green future.

opo 3y ago
If Germany were to rely just on solar and wind, the low capacity factor would likely require massive grid storage. The only large scale grid storage we have at this point is pumped hydro and that isn't scalable. For example, one estimate is that for Germany to rely only on solar and wind would require about 6,000 pumped storage plants which is literally 183 times their current capacity. If making more grid storage was cheap and easy, we would have built it decades ago. This is why Germany is still burning so much coal. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/144985/1/cesifo1_wp5950.pdf https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/144985/1/cesifo1_wp5...
freitzkriesler2 3y ago
What happens when the sun does sign? What happens when the wind doesnt blow? What happens when power demand rises and drops throughout the day? Solar and wind cannot support a base load period. Battery tech is great and believe me it's cool but lithium ion batteries have been in place since the 70s and the chemistry hasn't improved. Instead of sitting on our hands with a thumb up the bum, waiting for breakthroughs that never come, we have solutions today that work and should be leveraged before those gains in chemical engineering and material science happen.

tharmas 3y ago

Nuclear power is still expensive because those power plants have to be absolutely safe. They have to meet stringent safety standards making them expensive to build. Otherwise you get another Chernobyl.

freitzkriesler2 3y ago
Another red herring. Chernobyl had several design flaws in its RMBK reactors and what caused the melt down was operating it in a way that it was not designed for so a commie could look good for his bosses. Modern reactors are far more resilient and safe. The reason building new reactors is so expensive comes down to the permitting and license process. Building is easy, dealing with the $300/hr lawyers and regulatory overhead that makes bringing new reactors online is why it's so expensive. You want to know who has the safest track record of nuclear reactor operation? The navy.