this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2024
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No, nuclear is a viable addition to other clean energy initiatives.
Particularly nuclear fusion, which doesn’t generate long-lived radioactive isotopes as byproducts of energy production. Nuclear fission still has a place to be sure, but once we crack the dilemmas with fusion all bets are off when it comes to generating huge amounts of clean energy.
Fission gets a bad rap. The amount of waste it produces is minuscule compared to the amount of waste generated by fossil fuels, and it’s generally easier to deal with too. Just needs actual proper maintenance and care.
People acting like coal isn't radioactive or extremely toxic for everyone around
I don't think there are too many people arguing against fission who are in favour of coal
You say that but that's practically Australia in a nutshell, nuclear is explicitly banned for the purposes of energy production
The coal plants are decommissioning due to costs, renewable energy is booming, and (obviously due to the ban) there is no local nuclear industry or expertise. Even if you manage to lift the ban, which nobody is trying to do*, nuclear would not be replacing coal plants here, but might divert renewable funding. In other countries I have no doubt building more nuclear could offset coal, not here.
* The coalition claims to be in favour of nuclear power, but they've spruiked it before in opposition, and nothing gets tabled when they're in power. It's got as much chance of happening as high speed rail.
Any idea what fraction of our total power consumed is from renewables?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_sector_in_Australia
If you want to get excited though, check the rapid rise of renewables.
Biggest and just about onliest problem with nuclear fission is how expensive it is to set it up, both in terms of time and money.
Edit: typo
Besides, we can always just call in Godzilla to eat up the radiation
Fun fact, there are over 5 billion tons of naturally occurring uranium dissolved in the ocean.