Complexity is a thing you can't avoid with modern technologies. Whatever can be said about nuclear, you might say the same thing about any safety-critical system. Nothing is ever completely fool-proof.
A commercial airliner is more complex than a car, but airline travel is subject to a lot more safety scrutiny than highway travel - and, as we all must know by now, it's many times safer. The situation is analogous to nuclear and coal.
fatal (in more ways than one)
Ha. The safety record of the nuclear industry is actually very good compared to other technologies. How many people has nuclear killed in its entire lifetime compared to coal? It's not even close. (
link)
Now, lest you accuse me of presenting a false dilemma, let me say this:
Currently, we use both coal and nuclear. They're our main sources of electricity. Coal provides about half, nuclear about 20%. Over the coming decades, we
must transition to renewables to save our planet and prevent untold misery. As we do so, which are we going to phase out first? Coal or nuclear? Coal plants cause actual widespread health problems, emitting harmful substances like mercury and also emitting a significant (way more than nuclear plants) amount of radiation. (Nuclear plants' radiation is less than natural background radiation.) And, of course, they're the biggest culprit behind climate change. Nuclear, by comparison, has had a handful of serious accidents, but otherwise provides a steady supply of electricity with only a tiny fraction of the greenhouse gas emissions.
No energy technology is without any consequences - we have to weigh the benefits and risks and make the best decision we can. When I compare the risks of nuclear to the consequences of coal, nuclear is the better alternative. We need to use it as a bridge to a clean and sustainable energy supply.
I am in no way associated with the nuclear industry, so don't accuse me of trying to protect their image, or some other bull. I'm just a guy who cares about the environment and I came to that conclusion on my own. I can't understand why so many environmentalists insist on shooting themselves in the foot by hating on nuclear when it can help save us from global warming. It's like an irrational fear I would expect to find on the right side of the political spectrum.
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