George Monbiot is Annoying Me

Who the hell is kneejerking? And who put this straw in my clothing?

Of course, if all the conditions that people who are anti-nuclear were magically solved there would be little resistance to the once miracle technology of science fiction. Add up all the "ifs" and it's like a multi-component reliability analysis. The prospect of it working out becomes ever more remote.

The massive capital sponge effect in the near term (McCain's modest plan was tagged at a mere $315 billion) and the far too far out time for actual production (most say ten years for a new plant in the States) should make this very clearly a non-greenhouse gas mitigating option. The house is currently on fire, not ten years down the road when it's lying in ashes (in terms of halting, little less reversing, the warming trend).

Lots of things are possible in theory. The 60 years of reality do not match up very well with the theory part that has often been presented for the nuclear option. Even in France. Ask them how the Superphénix breeder is doing these days and who paid that huge bill and in what way.

George Monbiot: A Kneejerk Rejection of Nuclear Power is Not An Option - The Guardian - 20 Feb 09

"It's true that my position has changed. As the likely effects of climate change have become clearer, nuclear power, by comparison, has come to seem less threatening. "

"But I have not, as many people have suggested, gone nuclear. Instead, my position is that I will no longer oppose nuclear power if four conditions are met:

1. Its total emissions - from mine to dump - are taken into account.
2. We know exactly how and where the waste is to be buried.
3. We know how much this will cost and who will pay.
4. There is a legal guarantee that no civil nuclear materials will be diverted for military purposes.

None of them are insuperable."

If I got off this chair and got back to serious training, I might be able to play in the NFL too. After all, I'm the right size and shape and I used to be pretty good in high school what with two letters and all so with just a little extra effort, and several billions in taxpayer dollars preferably just to insure my future if things don't work out (somehow I can't get my friends or bankers to help me out on this bit), it wouldn't be insuperable. Oh, look. Another flying pig.

George Monbiot is Annoying Me

Who the hell is kneejerking? And who put this straw in my clothing?

Of course, if all the conditions that people who are anti-nuclear were magically solved there would be little resistance to the once miracle technology of science fiction. Add up all the "ifs" and it's like a multi-component reliability analysis. The prospect of it working out becomes ever more remote.

The massive capital sponge effect in the near term (McCain's modest plan was tagged at a mere $315 billion) and the far too far out time for actual production (most say ten years for a new plant in the States) should make this very clearly a non-greenhouse gas mitigating option. The house is currently on fire, not ten years down the road when it's lying in ashes (in terms of halting, little less reversing, the warming trend).

Lots of things are possible in theory. The 60 years of reality do not match up very well with the theory part that has often been presented for the nuclear option. Even in France. Ask them how the Superphénix breeder is doing these days and who paid that huge bill and in what way.

George Monbiot: A Kneejerk Rejection of Nuclear Power is Not An Option - The Guardian - 20 Feb 09

"It's true that my position has changed. As the likely effects of climate change have become clearer, nuclear power, by comparison, has come to seem less threatening. "

"But I have not, as many people have suggested, gone nuclear. Instead, my position is that I will no longer oppose nuclear power if four conditions are met:

1. Its total emissions - from mine to dump - are taken into account.
2. We know exactly how and where the waste is to be buried.
3. We know how much this will cost and who will pay.
4. There is a legal guarantee that no civil nuclear materials will be diverted for military purposes.

None of them are insuperable."

If I got off this chair and got back to serious training, I might be able to play in the NFL too. After all, I'm the right size and shape and I used to be pretty good in high school what with two letters and all so with just a little extra effort, and several billions in taxpayer dollars preferably just to insure my future if things don't work out (somehow I can't get my friends or bankers to help me out on this bit), it wouldn't be insuperable. Oh, look. Another flying pig.