tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3949677039149177105.post8220863631073360816..comments2024-01-08T13:49:23.687-08:00Comments on Advice Unasked: Climate Change: Reconsidering Nuclear PowerRaven Onthillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3949677039149177105.post-65581940267252950582019-01-24T10:25:05.447-08:002019-01-24T10:25:05.447-08:00To the person who linked a self-published crank an...To the person who linked a self-published crank anti-nuclear book, possibly in the hope of increasing sales (I've taken the link down, muttering imprecations about Blogger's limited moderation capabilities), we are near to literal billions of deaths from climate change. The risks of nuclear power may perhaps be a lesser terror.Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3949677039149177105.post-30966164716005564602019-01-17T13:19:12.031-08:002019-01-17T13:19:12.031-08:00We are in desperate straits, which is why I am eve...We are in desperate straits, which is why I am even considering the subject. One thing I hope we do not do is build more large boiling water reactors; they are hard to operate. (And of course the graphite-moderated RMBK design of Chernobyl should never be repeated, ought not have been built in the first place.)<br /><br />Arrays of small boiling water reactors like those used in submarines are a plausible design; they have an excellent safety record. If we started today, I would start with those.<br /><br />There are a number of technical paths in nuclear energy that have not been tried as well and these deserve further exploration. I know of two: the liquid thorium reactor and the traveling wave reactor. The traveling wave design is hopeful, but has not even been prototyped; the liquid thorium design has been prototyped, but is chemically nasty (florine!)<br /><br />None of these are completely safe but, heavens, what is? I would infinitely rather live next door to any of these reactors than a coal-fired plant. Even solar and wind have their risks.Raven Onthillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06634556869209594389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3949677039149177105.post-59490648389788137942019-01-15T12:03:48.395-08:002019-01-15T12:03:48.395-08:00Nuclear energy is clean and safe - until it isn...Nuclear energy is clean and safe - until it isn't. I like your idea of saints and angels but they are in scarce supply. As Allan Savory says, the earth will survive but Homo sapiens will not. Maybe it is someone else's turn? I dunno.The Blog Fodderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11441978691701289074noreply@blogger.com