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Coal mines can yield more coal without taking up more surface area. That's what mines are: they go underground. Nuclear power requires orders of magnitude less
by ivankirigin 19y ago
Coal mines can yield more coal without taking up more surface area. That's what mines are: they go underground.
Nuclear power requires orders of magnitude less land surface area. Waste produced can also scale underground. Yucca mountain doesn't actually take up much of the surface of Yucca mountain.
- brlewis 19y agoSee the second comment on the following page: http://greenoptions.com/2007/07/26/nuclear_power_is_green_renewable_energy_wrecks_the_environment http://greenoptions.com/2007/07/26/nuclear_power_is_green_re... Re. "orders of magnitude" see the page below. http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/printable_versions/geopower_landuse.html http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/printable_versions/ge... Quote: An entire geothermal field uses 1-8 acres per megawatt (MW) versus 5-10 acres per MW for nuclear operations and 19 acres per MW for coal power plants. Coal power plants also require huge acreages for mining their fuel. These mining operations can involve large-scale movement of earth for construction of underground mine shafts and tunnels, waste heaps, and/or open pits. Disturbed surfaces from open pit mining also can limit plant life participation in the carbon cycle and evapotranspiration, which replenishes water in the atmosphere. Adequate remediation of strip-mined areas can be expensive too.