Slashdot Mirror
New Nuclear Power Plants in the next 5 years
Guinnessy writes "As oil, coal, and gas become increasingly expensive, energy utilities take another look at nuclear power. The nuclear reactor builders are jostling for business as more than 26 plants may be ordered or constructed over the next five years in Canada, China, several European Union countries, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, and South Africa. Companies in the US and UK may order an additional 15 new reactors. Physics Today magazine has a global roundup of the new plants on construction, and how the builders are getting around some of the potential road blocks in their path. I'm sure many slashdot readers would be surprised to know that some new plants will be coming online so soon."
Given our dismal level of overall education I doubt it would be long before some random neighborhood in the US would be visible from space. I know one of these is proposed for construction here in Georgia, and somehow the idea of "rural south" and "nuclear power plant" in the same sentence worries me.
As long as there is a Second Amendment, there will always be a First Amendment.
If "terrawrists" attack... a "nukular" plant will likely annihilate a VERY large part of the USA... and fuck us for a LONG time... look at Chernobyl... and the containment was a joint CCCP/USA/UK effort... and the fallout STILL fucked asia and parts of europe... to this day. I'd say I hope it never happens, but neocons will likely detoante one just to blame it on "those damn Eigh-Rabs"... yep... they just need lots of them.
~D
" What luck for rulers that men do not think" - Adolf Hitler
Nuclear Power has always been the way to go. People fear nuclear power because of a few lies:
1) What really happend at Chernobyl.
2) Nuclear power plants emit cancer causing radiation.
3) Nuclear power plants are expensive to run.
1) First off, Chernobyl exploded because of idiocy in the Ukraine. You do not conduct an experiment on a nuclear power plant and turn all the safeties off. That is asking for trouble. However, NO FALLOUT WAS EVER RELEASED FROM THE FACILITY. The facility was 100% lost, but everyone was safe that was not inside the plant. Not to mention, the United States have safety measures that far exceed most, if not all countries running nuclear power in the world.
Every nuclear power plant after the Chernobyl incident was constructed more towards US safety specifications.
2) Yes, nuclear power plants give off radiation. 1 millirem of radiation per year. Cosmic rays from outer space, radon gas, television sets, microwaves, smoke detectors, etc. which we receive constantly gives off 360 milirem's of radiation. That 1 extra millirem will not kill you. If your still paranoid about radiation, concider this:
Coal plants emit 100,000 tons of sulphur dioxide, 75,000 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 5000 tons of fly ash into the environment per year. Oil-burning plants emit about 16,000 tons of sulphur dioxide and 20,000 tons of nitrogen oxides per year.
That's all equal, by weight, to about a half million elephants. Kenya can't compete to that many elephants. So compare, 1 millirem of radiation, or enough pollution to create thousands of gas chambers?
3) To create the amount of energy that a nuclear pellet can muster, you would need (2003-2004 dollars):
Three barrels of oil $150
One ton of coal $35
One nuclear fuel pellet $7
In 1993, Using nuclear power saved the world $13 Billion in fuel costs in just one year, not to mention hundreds of thousands of tons of pollution.
So, I don't know what everyone is so paranoid over. The statistics are there, nuclear power is better.
http://users.owt.com/smsrpm/nksafe/ ~ Nice link on nuclear power.
I say I am pro-life without exception, but I think I miiiiight have given your mom one.