Comments on: Senator calls for recycling nuclear fuel http://polizeros.com/2008/04/11/senator-calls-for-recycling-nuclear-fuel/ Musings on politics: anti-war, global warming, peak oil and otherwise Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:34:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: RedCharlie http://polizeros.com/2008/04/11/senator-calls-for-recycling-nuclear-fuel/comment-page-1/#comment-151724 RedCharlie Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:16:26 +0000 http://polizeros.com/2008/04/11/senator-calls-for-recycling-nuclear-fuel/#comment-151724 Nuclear waste is the elephant in the room when it comes to nuke power. Everything else pales in comparison. A nuke plant has at most a 50 year lifespan, the high level waste will remain "worse than natural ore" for at least 10 to 100 times that long, and if you think natural ores are safe go test your basement for Radon. But there is one technology that would make me a fan of nuclear power. Converting radiation directly into electricity (reminds me of solar panels). http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13545-nanomaterial-turns-radiation-directly-into-electricity.html If this stuff works, it would allow for completely solid-state, passive, and safe nuclear "batteries" that would produce power for as long as their contents are radioactive. Nuclear waste is the elephant in the room when it comes to nuke power. Everything else pales in comparison. A nuke plant has at most a 50 year lifespan, the high level waste will remain “worse than natural ore” for at least 10 to 100 times that long, and if you think natural ores are safe go test your basement for Radon.

But there is one technology that would make me a fan of nuclear power. Converting radiation directly into electricity (reminds me of solar panels).

http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13545-nanomaterial-turns-radiation-directly-into-electricity.html

If this stuff works, it would allow for completely solid-state, passive, and safe nuclear “batteries” that would produce power for as long as their contents are radioactive.

]]> By: John Couzin http://polizeros.com/2008/04/11/senator-calls-for-recycling-nuclear-fuel/comment-page-1/#comment-151672 John Couzin Fri, 11 Apr 2008 10:45:47 +0000 http://polizeros.com/2008/04/11/senator-calls-for-recycling-nuclear-fuel/#comment-151672 I believe there is an easy answer, leave nuclear power alone. That way you don't have the problems with the 100,000 years safe storage and you don't have the big money eager to create weapons grade nuclear material from the waste, you don't have radiation leaks and you don't leave a legacy of insanity to the next and the next and the next generations. There are enough alternatives to start pushing them and still more innovative ideas being developed all the time, put the money, the effort into the alternatives and the number will grow as each new idea is developed and expanded. Think, solar, wind, wave, current, hydro, algae and others, and from each of these a thousand variations can be developed. It requires the political will to push with some effort and sincerity, however in this type society it also requires the big money to get behind these ideas and they will only do so when they see big money it it for them. I believe there is an easy answer, leave nuclear power alone. That way you don’t have the problems with the 100,000 years safe storage and you don’t have the big money eager to create weapons grade nuclear material from the waste, you don’t have radiation leaks and you don’t leave a legacy of insanity to the next and the next and the next generations. There are enough alternatives to start pushing them and still more innovative ideas being developed all the time, put the money, the effort into the alternatives and the number will grow as each new idea is developed and expanded. Think, solar, wind, wave, current, hydro, algae and others, and from each of these a thousand variations can be developed. It requires the political will to push with some effort and sincerity, however in this type society it also requires the big money to get behind these ideas and they will only do so when they see big money it it for them.

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