3 ms·

Which technology do you think is the most worthwhile one? Nuclear power?

• dredmorbius 12y ago
  "Worthwhile" needs unpacking. For all practical purposes, we'll be solar powered in the future, though my question is at what level of technology. Woodfuel's proven robust for millennia, though there's the forests before, deserts after problem. In terms of abundance and accessibility, I'd generally say direct solar (PV or thermal), either wind or hydro, geothermal, and biomass, in about that order. It's far less a question of what's worthwhile, than what's a sustainable scale. It helps to understand what life is, and how it has transformed Earth over the past 3.5 billion years. Humans are part of that process, and, from the PoV of Earth have largely been engaged in one of the fastest redistributions of mineral resources ever seen, post primary-bombardment. https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g https://ello.co/dredmorbius/post/5l_8MqtVwLLvX_DabPjY-g As for nuclear generally: conventional plant designs suffer from limited fuel (80 years at present rates of use, 6 if scaled to all present human energy demands), breeders entail considerable risks, proposed thorium MSR designs haven't even landed on, let alone left, the drafting sheet, and there are complex long-term systemic risks for which I find sgcollins's "Nuke Skeptic" and "For Rohan" videos quite good. If you want more depth, I recommend Charles Perrow, The Next Catastrophe and Normal Accidents. http://fixyt.com/watch?v=KOBEloymLQA http://fixyt.com/watch?v=KOBEloymLQA http://fixyt.com/watch?v=S5hvY3atwUg http://fixyt.com/watch?v=S5hvY3atwUg http://www.powells.com/biblio/65-9780691150161-1 http://www.powells.com/biblio/65-9780691150161-1 http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780691004129-1 http://www.powells.com/biblio/62-9780691004129-1