Should Japan Restart More Nuclear Power Plants? (thebulletin.org)

Lasrick writes: Seth Baum, executive director of the Global Catastrophic Risk Institute, writes in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that Japan should restart more of its nuclear reactors (the Sendai nuclear plant was restarted in August). The reason is simple, writes Baum: "Japan is now building 45 new coal power plants, but if it turned its nuclear power plants back on... it could cut coal consumption in half. And coal poses more health and climate change dangers than nuclear power."

Comments

Re:Fukushima was WORTH IT

[liquid_schwartz]

While it's true that nuclear tends to have longer consequences for mistakes, sometimes coal disasters have long lived consequences too: Citation:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania

Between direct deaths (ie people who die immediately in accidents) and indirect deaths (ie people who die of cancer or pollution) I think coal has more deaths than nuclear by quite a bit. Interestingly hydroelectric dominates for direct deaths as shown here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_accidents

Re: Climate change vs. Nuclear accident

[Chas]

What? A nuclear powerplant is not a potential teraton explosion waiting to happen...

Since there's nowhere near a teraton of water in the cooling system? No.

Nuclear plant explosions have more in common with a bursting water heater than they do with a nuclear bomb.

Now, don't get me wrong. A high pressure steam explosion is a nasty thing too. But it's NOT a nuclear explosion.

Re:Fukushima was WORTH IT

[thesupraman]

You seem to forget that the US dropped NUCLEAR FUCKING BOMBS on two Japanese cities only 70 odd years ago, and both are thriving cities these days.

What goes on for so long is the bs paranoia that is so deeply ingrained that people refuse to look at the scientific facts that low levels of radiation are not lethal, and in fact are quite common naturally.

Or perhaps you suggest we should require people to block up all basements in bedrock due to the natural radon levels?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon

Not to mention banning bananas
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

People living in Ramsir, Iran of course must be dead by now, but somehow they have been surviving for centuries
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramsar,_Mazandaran

But dont let actual facts get in the way of your cold war radiation terror..

Re:Fukushima was NOT WORTH IT

[Firethorn]

Nuclear and Coal are as bad as each other and Nuclear is worse in ways we still don't fully comprehend.

I'd argue that Coal is worse, and worse in ways that we still don't fully comprehend. We understand the problems with nuclear power pretty well, including that it kills fewer people per MWh than solar.

Remember, most of the dangerous byproducts from a coal plant don't break down, and aren't all that well contained. Nuclear power waste is at least contained.

Re:Fukushima was NOT WORTH IT

[bloodhawk]

every coal fire plant is a disaster that is occurring every single day and are continuing to affect the human race in ways we still don't fully comprehend long after everyone here is dead.

You are arguing that having two problems is the solution, instead of getting rid of both problems. Nuclear and Coal are as bad as each other and Nuclear is worse in ways we still don't fully comprehend.

No, I am arguing coal is a KNOWN far worse problem right here and now, we don't have to wait for an accident, it doesn't have some "chance" of being an issue. It has far reaching known issues and probably just as many unknown.