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> We in the USA choose to stick with ancient technology because we have a sunk cost and an existing political power structure built around it. Yes, and also va

by nickserv 11mo ago

> We in the USA choose to stick with ancient technology because we have a sunk cost and an existing political power structure built around it. Yes, and also vast oil and gas reserves China doesn't have. Also there is strong public fear and dislike of nuclear power. In countries where there are no or little fossil fuels it is mainly this public opinion which has crippled the nuclear industry. Germany is a prime example. Public opinion is obviously much less important in China.

seanmcdirmid 11mo ago
> Public opinion is obviously much less important in China. That really isn’t true. The reason Shanghai didn’t expand their maglev to Hangzhou is because residents were worried about electrical magnetic radiation, which I don’t think is really a thing. Nuclear took a long time to get started in China because people thought the government to be inept and corrupt, an image that has only recently faded away in the last decade. Without free elections, public opinion is actually much more important if you want to avoid economically destructive riots. But this all happens in back rooms, the legal system isn’t very relevant, so if you have an issue but it isn’t a very popular one, you don’t really have any recourse. For example, niche environmental issues, or ones that aren’t widely recognized yet as dangerous…
- deleted 11mo ago
  [deleted]
tehjoker 11mo ago
Public opinion here appears to count for nearly jack squat so I don’t buy this explanation at all.
- hunterpayne 11mo ago
  FF extraction is very profitable and has been for a long time. Those that make money from extraction spend a lot on lobbying. They don't want nuclear power because its the only thing that can really replace FFs. The public opinion angle is just useful idiots being manipulated by people who make money from FF extraction. That makes it far easier to get the politicians to do what they want (kill nuclear).
  - tehjoker 11mo ago
    fossil fuel also underpins the us dollar so there’s that too
vjvjvjvjghv 11mo ago
"Public opinion is obviously much less important in China." In the US public opinion doesn't really matter either. It's the oligarchs' opinions that matter

seanmcdirmid 11mo ago

> Public opinion is obviously much less important in China. That really isn’t true. The reason Shanghai didn’t expand their maglev to Hangzhou is because residents were worried about electrical magnetic radiation, which I don’t think is really a thing. Nuclear took a long time to get started in China because people thought the government to be inept and corrupt, an image that has only recently faded away in the last decade. Without free elections, public opinion is actually much more important if you want to avoid economically destructive riots. But this all happens in back rooms, the legal system isn’t very relevant, so if you have an issue but it isn’t a very popular one, you don’t really have any recourse. For example, niche environmental issues, or ones that aren’t widely recognized yet as dangerous…

deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]

tehjoker 11mo ago

Public opinion here appears to count for nearly jack squat so I don’t buy this explanation at all.

hunterpayne 11mo ago
FF extraction is very profitable and has been for a long time. Those that make money from extraction spend a lot on lobbying. They don't want nuclear power because its the only thing that can really replace FFs. The public opinion angle is just useful idiots being manipulated by people who make money from FF extraction. That makes it far easier to get the politicians to do what they want (kill nuclear).
- tehjoker 11mo ago
  fossil fuel also underpins the us dollar so there’s that too

vjvjvjvjghv 11mo ago

"Public opinion is obviously much less important in China." In the US public opinion doesn't really matter either. It's the oligarchs' opinions that matter