Nukular Stuff
mikethemadbiologist | April 3, 2011A while ago, I raised the problem--an inconvenient truth, if you will--that moving to a renewable energy future is going to be difficult:
My impression reading a lot of commentary about renewable energy is that there's this fantasy that we just have to build a bunch of windmills, install some solar panels, buy a Prius, and replace our windows and all will be well. But the brutal reality is that we need to urbanize our suburbs. We need to discourage detached housing. We need to massively fund local mass transit--not just SUPERTRAINS. We can't have people firing up their own personal combustion…
mikethemadbiologist | March 22, 2011By way of Digby, we come across this proposal of how to reach 95% percent renewable energy by 2050. Before I get to some of the issue I have with the study (which is actually pretty good), I want to lay out my general views on energy use.
First, I'm not a 'fan' of nuclear power. While thorium-powered reactors would be a vast improvement over traditional reactors (and newer designs regardless of energy source would fail much more safely compared to older ones), even thorium isn't perfect. But what's really stupid are all of the calls for immediately stopping the use of nuclear power. (…
mikethemadbiologist | March 15, 2011I'm starting to think that Fox News' primary function isn't catapulting conservative propaganda, but Will Rogers-esque comedy:
One name seems out of place on the graphic [of Japan's nuclear power plants] -- that of "Shibuyaeggman."
It doesn't show up on the International Atomic Energy Agency's list of Japanese nuclear power stations, and this map of Japanese nuclear installations from the Department of Energy's International Nuclear Safety Center doesn't have any listing for "Shibuyaeggman," and doesn't show a nuclear power plant anywhere near the location on the Fox News map.
So what is "…
mikethemadbiologist | March 14, 2011In light of the nuclear power plant partial meltdowns in Japan, there are calls for not expanding the U.S. nuclear power plant capacity, and even shutting down existing plants. What bothers me about this is that there is no discussion of how we make up the energy production shortfall--I'll get to energy conservation in a bit. As the U.S. begins the 21st century, we still are generating most of our power by lighting things on fire: oil, gas, and coal. While renewable energy (which despite its name still has some CO2 footprint) could pick up some slack, given our dysfunctional political…
mikethemadbiologist | September 9, 2010I've written about the need and potential of thorium-based nuclear power:
It's always seemed to me that nuclear power would have to be part of the solution of the global warming problem: even if the planet's population were to remain constant, and even if planet-wide energy use were to remain steady, we would still have to dramatically cut CO2 per capita emissions. The problem with nuclear power--or more accurately, uranium-based nuclear power--is the waste product. Not only is radioactive waste produced, but the byproducts of the reaction can be used to build nuclear weapons.
At The…
mikethemadbiologist | January 26, 2010It's always seemed to me that nuclear power would have to be part of the solution of the global warming problem: even if the planet's population were to remain constant, and even if planet-wide energy use were to remain steady, we would still have to dramatically cut CO2 per capita emissions. The problem with nuclear power--or more accurately, uranium-based nuclear power--is the waste product. Not only is radioactive waste produced, but the byproducts of the reaction can be used to build nuclear weapons. So I was very intrigued by this Wired article about thorium-based nuclear power:
When…
mikethemadbiologist | January 8, 2008By way of Phronesisaical, this story about a lithium-based nuclear reactor sounds too good to be true:
Toshiba has developed a new class of micro size Nuclear Reactors that is designed to power individual apartment buildings or city blocks. The new reactor, which is only 20 feet by 6 feet, could change everything for small remote communities, small businesses or even a group of neighbors who are fed up with the power companies and want more control over their energy needs.
The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat.…