Nuclear Energy

[toastido]

None of those dangers have a frighting tag line like "radioactivity" to go along with them.  Ask the same people who are afraid of living close to a nuke plant if they are also frightened by dihydrogen monoxide being close to their home and many of them will say yes. 

I LOLd : http://www.dhmo.org/

That's the funniest thing I've seen in years. 

[Crockett]

The northern Cumberland Plateau is ground-zero for surface coal mining in the South. Many of the Cumberland Mountains here still have rings around their tops, ugly scars from surface mining in the '50s, '60s and '70s before federal regulations were heightened and brought about an end to it. Since the resurgence of mining here a few years ago, much of the surface mining has been re-mining of the old surface mines and a couple of cross-ridge mines (same thing as mountaintop-removal mining in West Virginia except Tennessee regulations require that the mountains be rebuilt to their original contour once mining is finished). But there are a large number of ridgetops here that have been identified as suitable for cross-ridge mines. Many of them fall within the 145,000 acre North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area. When West Virginia coal baron Jim Justice bought the Knoxville-based National Coal Company, that pretty much guaranteed that these surface mines will move forward full speed ahead. The Wall Street Journal had a story on how much coal he plans to extract with his new company he's forming. I can't remember the exact number, but it was significant.

My point is this: I fear that coal mining is on the verge of devastating the aesthetic beauty and tourism potential of this region and turning it into another West Virginia. Efforts to stop cross-ridge or MTR mining have failed because this is a poverty stricken area with few jobs and the coal companies have convinced the people here that the economy (such as it is) is dependent upon the coal industry, which simply isn't true anymore like it was back in the '60s and '70s. I have no problem whatsoever with deep mining, so long as it is done with common sense regulations in place, but coal companies' preferred method now is MTR mining because they can access the coal seams closer to the surface with less manpower and, thus, turn a bigger profit.

Given the choice between placing a nuclear power facility in my home county and letting the land here be raped the way the hills of eastern Kentucky and West Virginia have been raped, give me the nuke plant. I'm not afraid to live next to it.

Besides, as far as the waste is concerned, there have actually been studies that suggest coal ash is more radioactive and more dangerous than nuke waste.

[Charles L.]

In Hartsville you can see the smoke towers from the nuclear plant they were building, it caused quite a stir among the residents of my county and Trousdale, so the operation was halted.

I see it like harlequin does, I think living in Tornado Alley or in a place like New Orleans is much more worrisome than living next to a nuclear plant. We have hundreds of nuclear plants across our country, and exactly how many of those have had catastrophic failure?

What is occurring in Japan is very rare and would not even be happening if not for the tsunami...it withstood the quake quite well.

[Thundersnow]

Many of the Cumberland Mountains here still have rings around their tops, ugly scars from surface mining in the '50s, '60s and '70s before federal regulations were heightened and brought about an end to it.

Wow... I think I've noticed that and always just assumed those were natural formations on the mountain tops.

[JayCee]

The whole thing about being afraid of living near a nuclear reactor just doesn't cut it with me. People live on flood plains, earthquake zones, and worst of all - coastlines. I mean, there are people who have lost their homes multiple times on the Gulf Coast.

What you listed here are "acts of God."  They can happen anywhere, anytime.  Even those of us in Tennessee can be hit by terrible floods or tornadoes.  Did everyone leave Nashville after the floods a few years ago?  It happened once, it certainly can happen again.  

On the other hand, a nuclear meltdown is totally a MAN-MADE disaster created by our insatiable need for energy despite the risks involved.  The two are not even remotely related.  

As a former east Ky native, I know all too well the effects of our "raping" the earth for coal. There is no easy solution to our energy problem.  The fact is: it is our lust for energy that has created the problem.  I would prefer a solution that saves the earth, and doesn't create radioactive fallout if an accident occurs.  However, mankind being basically selfish and concerned only with the "here and now," will probably preclude any resolution.  We'll give our great grandchildren a world with flat mountains and glowing fish.

[Curt]

What you listed here are "acts of God."  They can happen anywhere, anytime.  Even those of us in Tennessee can be hit by terrible floods or tornadoes.  Did everyone leave Nashville after the floods a few years ago?  It happened once, it certainly can happen again.  

On the other hand, a nuclear meltdown is totally a MAN-MADE disaster created by our insatiable need for energy despite the risks involved.  The two are not even remotely related.  

As a former east Ky native, I know all too well the effects of our "raping" the earth for coal. There is no easy solution to our energy problem.  The fact is: it is our lust for energy that has created the problem.  I would prefer a solution that saves the earth, and doesn't create radioactive fallout if an accident occurs.  However, mankind being basically selfish and concerned only with the "here and now," will probably preclude any resolution.  We'll give our great grandchildren a world with flat mountains and glowing fish.

So you dont think a 23 foot wall of water plowing into a nuclear facility counts as an act of God? If the reactor were 2 miles further inland we wouldnt even be having this conversation. To say this is "totally man made" is not accuate IMO, and quite frankly, by a long shot.

[harlequin]

Oh, don't get me wrong, I do think the human species currently has an insatiable need for energy. Any way you look at it, imo, we have finite resources that will be used up in a couple of centuries (maybe less? possibly in some of our lifetimes?). We definitely need to curb our energy usage and find new innovations. I'm just saying nuclear energy isn't terrifying to me. If could be a necessary step in our shift away from coal and the like. I mean, if I try to bring the situation to my backyard, and imagine a reactor being built next to my hometown... I suppose I wouldn't want that, but I think I could accept it. I just don't think the potential for a nuclear disaster is particularly high. Although, I guess the more you make the higher the chance. Especially when you consider that many places have multiple potential disasters.