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I frigging hate this "nuclear power is the answer to everything" meme that gets repeated on HN. Nuclear power requires a huge amount of fossil fuels in its lif

by aestra 13y ago

I frigging hate this "nuclear power is the answer to everything" meme that gets repeated on HN. Nuclear power requires a huge amount of fossil fuels in its life cycle. From building the plant to mining the uranium then decommissioning it. All energy extensive. http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/04/nuclear-is-not-a-low-carbon-source-of-energy.html http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2013/04/nuclear-is-not-a-low-... http://mediamatters.org/mobile/research/2013/11/07/myths-and-facts-about-nuclear-power/196793 http://mediamatters.org/mobile/research/2013/11/07/myths-and... Right now nuclear compares to other renewables http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparisons_of_life-cycle_greenhouse_gas_emissions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparisons_of_life-cycle_green... however it is though if it is widely adopted, uranium will become more energy intensive to mine uranium and convert it to fuel.

ars 13y ago
> Nuclear power requires a huge amount of fossil fuels in its life cycle. From building the plant to mining the uranium then decommissioning it. All energy extensive. And renewables are MUCH worse. You don't need much uranium to make energy, but you need a TON of metal to capture wind or sun energy. > however it is though if it is widely adopted, uranium will become more energy intensive to mine uranium and convert it to fuel. And again, renewables are worse in that regard. They do well now only because they aren't used a lot. But use them a lot and the price (due to rarity) will go up, meaning the resources needed will go up. There is no perfect energy source. It's just a matter of relative harm.