Originally Posted by
Frank_B
Maybe 15 years ago, I took an elective class in nuclear energy. The professor was a PhD grad from Yale, and aside from that, an absolutely drop dead gorgeous woman. Needless to say, I paid strict attention to every little thing she said and a few things have always stuck with me:
A soda can of spent nuclear fuel is roughly approximate to 84 train cars of coal in terms of energy production.
Newer reactors have so many safeguards built into them that things like Fukushima and Chernobyl simply can't happen. This is really important, because many people's fears of nuclear power stem from disasters with older reactors. It's like having a fear of flying because you read about a few DC-3 crashes in 1937.
There is concern that with enough solar panels powering the grid, there is a certain amount of reflective energy, put off back into the atmosphere that COULD potentially contribute to actual heating.
With windmills, changing the air flow over terrain can have devastating effects on everything from migratory patterns of birds to the pollination of plants, which can drastically alter entire ecosystems.
Nevermind that solar and wind are only about 10% efficient, meaning that roughly 90% of the energy produced is lost in the conversion process. To be fair, technology upgrades may have changed since then, so these numbers could be a little off.
There is a cost of nuclear fuel. The carbon tracking Nazi's will claim that mining uranium has a CO2 cost and disposal of depleted uranium is, fair enough, an argument to be had. Some people say "shoot it into space," and other say "bury it." It still comes at a much lower cost than many alternative energy sources have to offer.
I also remember reading a book in the class titled, The Power to Save the World. It had a very compelling argument for nuclear energy, and I've been a fan of nuclear energy ever since the class and the book. It's been long enough to where I can remember only tidbits, but I do recall it being a very good book that made me see the not-so-ignorant side of nuclear energy.