On Wed, Mar 15, 2000 at 05:07:40PM -0500, Michael S. Lorrey wrote:
> > Or natural gas. In the UK, coal plants are being shut down and switched
> > to methane-burning turbined at remarkable speed. Meanwhile, the nuclear
> > industry is moribund. The real exceptions are France and Japan, which
> > for reasons of state policy are building potloads of nuclear reactors.
> > By 2020, a much higher proportion of the UK's electricity will be nuclear
> > than is the case today -- and it will be imported from France.
>
> Who have no waste problem. However, you didn't comment on my main assertions
> about the coal industry.
Because, broadly speaking, you're right.
Surprised I agree with you?
I'm not anti-nuclear. What I am is skeptical that the technology can
be made cost-effective and useful in places like the USA and UK, while
current political constraints apply. Maybe in another generation public
attitudes will have shifted: I expect the real oil crunch will lead to
a turn-around in the public perception of nuclear power when it bites,
especially if the current military trend away from weapons of mass
destruction and towards precision-guided weapons continues.
But I'm also unhappy about the way the civil side of the industry is
run -- little things like BNFL inspectors forging QA test reports on
fuel rods delivered to customers in Germany and Japan do not fill me
with warm fuzzies. You could say, with justification, that this is a
management problem, and I'd be bound to agree, but I think it reflects
an underlying malaise in the way the industry is run from the top down.
-- Charlie
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