The nuclear option.....
Aug. 1st, 2007 01:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1With all the fuss about carbon emissions, and discussion about alternative sources for energy, there's been talk about going back to nuclear power as a primary source for electricity.
I'm not sure that's a good idea at this point. While I have some rudimentary knowledge of the process of nuclear fission, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
How is uranium mined and where does it come from? What safeguards would be necessary in order for the material to be handled safely, and not fall into the wrong hands? Do we have better technology to contain and control the fission reaction process? And most importantly -- what do we do with the spent fuel rods? That's my biggest gripe about fission reactors: the waste products that are created by the process.
The French have relied on nuclear power for years. What to they know that we don't know?
It's been years since I last heard about tokamak reactors and nuclear fusion. Has this information since become classified?
I'm well aware of the "no nukes" movement, and many of you subscribe to it. I'm also aware of the risks and what can go wrong: Chernobyl. Three Mile Island. The reactor in Japan whose name I forget that was recently damaged by an earthquake.
There was a great picture of a banner in my college psychology textbook. It was a skull and skeletal arm holding an electric toothbrush near the jaw. The caption: "Can nuclear power give you whiter teeth? You bet your life!"
I'm taking the scientist's approach to nuclear power. I want to keep an open mind and not be swayed by emotion. I'm not completely convinced that nuclear power is such a bad idea. I'm hopeful, but at the same time, I'm skeptical.
I'm not sure that's a good idea at this point. While I have some rudimentary knowledge of the process of nuclear fission, there are still a lot of unanswered questions.
How is uranium mined and where does it come from? What safeguards would be necessary in order for the material to be handled safely, and not fall into the wrong hands? Do we have better technology to contain and control the fission reaction process? And most importantly -- what do we do with the spent fuel rods? That's my biggest gripe about fission reactors: the waste products that are created by the process.
The French have relied on nuclear power for years. What to they know that we don't know?
It's been years since I last heard about tokamak reactors and nuclear fusion. Has this information since become classified?
I'm well aware of the "no nukes" movement, and many of you subscribe to it. I'm also aware of the risks and what can go wrong: Chernobyl. Three Mile Island. The reactor in Japan whose name I forget that was recently damaged by an earthquake.
There was a great picture of a banner in my college psychology textbook. It was a skull and skeletal arm holding an electric toothbrush near the jaw. The caption: "Can nuclear power give you whiter teeth? You bet your life!"
I'm taking the scientist's approach to nuclear power. I want to keep an open mind and not be swayed by emotion. I'm not completely convinced that nuclear power is such a bad idea. I'm hopeful, but at the same time, I'm skeptical.
