Reply #55: We covered this specious idea in another thread sometime ago. [View All]

[NNadir]

First of all this statement "As for nuclear plants, the hazards include the potential for nuclear melt-downs and wide-spread radiation poisoning of citizens, the contamination of regions surrounding nuclear plants for hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of years, the difficulty of safely storing lethal waste materials that have half lives measured in tens of thousands of years (how many civilizations do you know that have lasted even 1,000 years?) and the creation of attractive targets for terrorists, to name only a few. In fact, nuclear plants have been called "weapons of mass destruction pre-positioned on American soil."" is just patent nonsense. The statement is simply ignorance and fear and is, well, pure bullshit.

No one in the United States has died from the use of commercial nuclear power. If I'm wrong, prove it. I have a whole thread here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=5609&mesg_id=5609 discussing so called "nuclear waste" in detail. In it I examine with pretty pointed technical detail that the fear of so called "nuclear waste," is complete nonsense perpetrated by people who don't think and who in fact don't even have a basic clue.

The plant under discussion, the solar tower, is a plant covering almost 20 square kilometers to generate just 200 Megawatts. Just on these grounds alone, it is extremely doubtful that this technology is either economical or environmentally benign.

Part of the proposal includes building structures taller than those now existing anywhere on earth. Further there is a lot of hand waving about construction costs and every single one of the assertions here is unproven and untested..

Not one such plant functions anywhere on earth. When an operating pilot exists, maybe we can discuss such schemes and examine their economics and environmental acceptability. But this is not a time to be cute or play games. Our planet is in very dire immediate circumstances. Tiny, and I do mean tiny 200 Megawatt solar stations are not going to save the world. The emergency isn't something that's happening fifty years from now when we've ironed out how to play with our erector sets. The emergency is NOW.