11–20 of 141 posts
This strikes me more as a political stunt by Merkel to rally the conservative base in Germany than anything else. Still, it doesn't surprise me that this is such a hot button issue right now. I've long been a supporter of nuclear power, but the events of the past week have made me start to reconsider a lot of my beliefs about its safety.
Nice to know that there is another country out there that's as irrational as the US. Does Germany have a lot of tsunamis?
IMHO, this is the best explanation for the sudden change of heart of those who decided to prolong the duration of the atomic reactors just a few months ago.
This strikes me more as a political stunt by Merkel to rally the conservative base in Germany than anything else. Still, it doesn't surprise me that this is such a hot button issue right now. I've long been a supporter of nuclear power, but the events of the past week have made me start to reconsider a lot of my beliefs about its safety.
If one of the worst earthquakes on record can't break the containment vessel in these old plants, then I think we're actually doing very well.
Edit: If you want to read up on the radiation levels: http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20110315-red-alert-radiatio...
I guess a knee-jerk reaction can be expected in a country where nuclear power is currently pretty controversial.
I don't think this is a knee jerk reaction. I think this is a move for short term political gains without regard for the long term societal costs. They had decided to extend the life of the reactors just last year. No new risk inherent to their design has been exposed. No new tsunami or earthquake risk in Germany has been exposed. I agree with the person quote in TFA (despite the fact that his statement may be a poli…
Nice to know that there is another country out there that's as irrational as the US. Does Germany have a lot of tsunamis?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%BClheim-K%C3%A4rlich_Nucle...
This strikes me more as a political stunt by Merkel to rally the conservative base in Germany than anything else. Still, it doesn't surprise me that this is such a hot button issue right now. I've long been a supporter of nuclear power, but the events of the past week have made me start to reconsider a lot of my beliefs about its safety.
Right now, we don't know how serious this situation is, it could be that this will end with a small amount of radiation leaked and four reactors that have to be decommissioned. Or it could end with a major environmental disaster. We simply don't know yet.
I'd caution calm and not following in the footsteps of Germany. Let's wait and see. In a few weeks we may be reconsidering nuclear power, or we may be marveling at how well those plants survived what happened to them.
I guess a knee-jerk reaction can be expected in a country where nuclear power is currently pretty controversial.
Personally, I'd feel a lot safer if all nuclear plants were turned off forever. Sure, the chance of something going horribly wrong is low, but if it goes wrong it is a big big mess. Just too horrible to warrant any of the advantages that nuclear power has.
This strikes me more as a political stunt by Merkel to rally the conservative base in Germany than anything else. Still, it doesn't surprise me that this is such a hot button issue right now. I've long been a supporter of nuclear power, but the events of the past week have made me start to reconsider a lot of my beliefs about its safety.
This strikes me more as a political stunt by Merkel to rally the conservative base in Germany than anything else. Still, it doesn't surprise me that this is such a hot button issue right now. I've long been a supporter of nuclear power, but the events of the past week have made me start to reconsider a lot of my beliefs about its safety.