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The Nuclear Power Renaissance
Actual Reality writes "It is ironic to me that much of the same sentiment that thwarted the nuclear power industry back in the 80's is partially responsible for reviving it. Nuclear power is very clean compared to any power source that burns fuel. The US has missed several advancements in nuclear technology. We can only hope that environmental concerns will not again stifle our progress."
Yes, we know all about low cost nuclear power here in New Hampshire. Hah!
All power plants suck up water from a nearby body of water, heat it, and dump the waste heat. Nuclear plants are less efficient because the temperatures are much lower than fire-powered plants. They dump a lot more warm water into the river per kilowatt output because of this. What shall we do with all this warm water? Shall we dump it in the river and kill the fish? This is already a serious problem at plants like Vermont Yankee.
What shall we do with the nuclear waste? NIMBY is the battle cry! Just ask the poor slobs in Washington State who are getting radioactive waste in the river. Ask the folks in Nevada if they want to be the world's nuclear dump. I don't think so.
The real answer is to 'get off the pot' and not need power plants like this at all. We could chop power consumption by a lot. Just watch, it will happen as energy gets more expensive. People can get quite ingenious when the alternatives are grim.