| Nuclear Power | |
I unfortunately get drawn into "confrontation" in forums found on the New Zealand Herald and TradeMe sites all the time. It seems I can not help myself. I have this incredible addiction to argue with idiots.
The latest on the Herald site is developed into a slinging match between the two opposing sides of Nuclear power in New Zealand. (Can find the discussion here)
I am 100% against Nuclear Power in New Zealand. The rest of the world can have it, and keep it there.
There are five primary reasons I don't want them to be built in New Zealand:- Cost - they cost about $6-8 billion dollars to build, and about $2 billion to "decommission". We would also have to import Uranium every two years leaving us at the mercy of international markets (again)
- Waste - a modern plant can only store 15 years of waste "on-site" - where do we put it after that?
- Water - even a modern power plant uses the same amount of water as a coal plant and can not run if it has limited access to water during drought (just like Hydro power)
- Safety - modern "cheap" nuclear stations like found in France are not designed for earthquake prone countries. Most only have a design threshold of a magnitude 5.5 earthquake
- Sustainability - a modern plant only has a lifespan of 50 years (see decommission cost above!)
So no, I am definitely not a supporter of Nuclear Power in New Zealand.
We can't even fund a descent road infrastructure, let alone a nuclear power plant. And we would need 2 of them.
Innovation, not indoctrinated believe in a false economy is going to see New Zealand have sustainable power generation.
We need to think outside the square, do the R & D, find something that is easy, cost effective, clean and sustainable. And then we sell it to the rest of the world and become a wealthy nation once more. Can't let the dairy farmers have all the fun eh!
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| Posted by Karl Rohde on June 10, 2008 at 3:00 pm | Technology | Trackbacks (0) |
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