Live data from Hacker News

Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

dw.com

161–170 of 392 posts

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#161

Finally. Opposition to nuclear is beyond unreasonable. https://ourworldindata.org/safest-sources-of-energy

That statistic is only about deaths. You still have to deal with nuclear accidents leading to evacuation of huge areas happening once around every 30 years (unknown unknowns and what not). Germany has a high population density. Such a catastrophe happening in Germany would lead to millions getting evacuated. Another issue is the safe disposal of nuclear waste. It might seem like a low risk, but over the huge timespan…

That's a good point, maybe we should also be evacuating huge areas around dirty power plants considering we are aware of the harm they cause to the nearby population?

Nuclear waste is a non issue. If you want to make it perfectly safe and untouchable to most bad actors, you can always dump it into a trench in the ocean. The radioactivity will not penetrate far through ocean water and will be less than other sources of radiation in the ocean today. The only reason why we do things like keep it stored on site, is because its still useful material that can be used in future reaction designs, and throwing it into the sea would be a waste of resources we worked hard to extract from the earth in the first place. I also have not seen any examples in history of people taking waste from a powerplant and turning that into a weapon against other people. So far in history, the only time nuclear weaponry has been used against humans was when it was built by an American arms factory, which is pretty remarkable considering the inherent violence that many of the elite of our species rely upon to maintain their power.

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#162

While I agree that it would have been sensible to phase out coal and then nuclear, the german position is more complex. The fallout from Tschernobyl was measurable in Germany… measurable as in my science teacher measured it in his garden. Up to today boar and mushrooms have an elevated level of radiation in the forests around my home. So this is the emotional background, the risks are not far away. Fukushima gave the…

> „If Japan can’t control the technology nobody can“. I don't understand this argument, isn't Japan known for its earthquakes? Which are essentially non-existent in Germany? In my opinion Fukushima should be an argument _for_ nuclear power. The death toll was really low, roughly 2000, and many of those death were caused by the evacuation rather than radiation. The death toll of the tsunami/earthquake was 15000 accord…

> In my opinion Fukushima should be an argument _for_ nuclear power. The death toll was really low, roughly 2000, and many of those death were caused by the evacuation rather than radiation. The death toll of the tsunami/earthquake was 15000 according to wikipedia.

Isn't the pacific now significantly polluted by radiation from the plant? That seems like a pretty bad outcome, even if the direct number of deaths was relatively low.

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#163
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And all of it was replaced by renewables: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschla...

They could have instead replaced the fossil fuel electrical generation with those renewables, and kept the nuclear plants. That would have been a massive reduction in carbon emissions by Germany. Odd choice.

It would have made tens of thousands of coal industry workers jobless and CDU/SPD needed those votes. Yikes

After the closure of the nuclear plants, the share of electricity generated from coal INCREASED

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#164

While I agree that it would have been sensible to phase out coal and then nuclear, the german position is more complex. The fallout from Tschernobyl was measurable in Germany… measurable as in my science teacher measured it in his garden. Up to today boar and mushrooms have an elevated level of radiation in the forests around my home. So this is the emotional background, the risks are not far away. Fukushima gave the…

unnecessary german angst. Just check the map https://www.wano.info/members/wano-world-map . We are surrounded by atomic power plants. Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Czech republic..almost all of them are situated in the german borders.

What do you mean they are situated in Germany borders? You mean other countries operate their nuclear plants within Germany? I clicked on a few that were marked Paris in that map (Neckarwestheim, Philippsburg, Gundremmingen) and they all very much seem to be German owned and operated. What am I missing? Would be very suprised to hear otherwise.

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#165
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Simply install an air conditioner and you will have very efficient room heating (no hot water, though). They cost about 1500€ and are really easy to install. I know in Bulgaria many households have switched from oil heating to air conditioners.

That's not that easy with German homes as they are heated with hot water pipes and walls are typically solid. You could maybe install a device that emits hot air in a single room, but to install a forced air system, you'd need to in essence remodel the entire home. In addition, you'd have worse outcomes because now the nice warm floors are gone.

In that case you need to install air/water heat pump, which not only heats the house but also the potable water. They're more costly than regular heat pumps, but are _better_ choice than individual heat pump units around the house.

It's a more difficult situation if the house lacks water circulation (heated floors/radiators).

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#166
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could have instead replaced the fossil fuel electrical generation with those renewables, and kept the nuclear plants. That would have been a massive reduction in carbon emissions by Germany. Odd choice.

Yes. But they produces nuclear wast and a melt down could devastate wide regions. Glad that this will all be over soon. I was a victim of the Chernobyl fallout myself, and would not like to experience this again.

How were you a victim? if I may ask

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#168
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And all of it was replaced by renewables: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschla...

Part of these renewables are the so-called "biomass", which leads to pretty substantial CO2 emissions. So basically they replaced a CO2-neutral energy source, with another which is pretty CO2-intensive. Renewable does not mean good for the environment!

Biomass use in certain European countries is... all sorts of questionable. Some of it is wood imports from America for use as "green" energy, discounting the energy cost of shipment.

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A nuclear plant that doesn't explode, that is. Pretty sure Tschernobyl released more radiation than a coal plant over its lifetime. Probably more than all coal plants in Germany in their lifetime combined.

And new reactor designs are meltdown proof, so what's the problem exactly?

Can you cite your claim? Meltdown-proof? So a huge earthquake and tsunami won't cause nuclear waste leaks in the slightest? Nothing will?

Re: Germany extends lifetime of all 3 remaining nuclear plants

#170

Finally! Everybody was telling them to do so, it was very hard to understand why they would do the opposite. Personally I'm very happy reason hasn't lost its way.

Its pretty easy to understand why they would do the opposite: there is money invested in favor of the opposite that exerts political influence.
Post reply on HN