[ RadSafe ] Nuclear Power in Saudi Arabia

[Steven Dapra]

Aug. 22, 2010

         Comments interspersed.

Steven Dapra


At 01:50 PM 8/22/2010, ROY HERREN wrote:
>Stewart,
>
>     Is your statement, "Solar costs can not really compete with 
> nuclear power
>plant costs over the long haul", a fact or "just your opinion"?  I too am an
>advocate for Nuclear Power, however I don't seem to recall a 
>government subsidy
>for the fuel and waste cycle costs for Solar, and to the best of my knowledge
>the decommissioning costs for Solar aren't even close to being 
>comparable to the
>decommissioning costs of Nuclear Power.  If we are going to have a 
>discussion of
>the merits of a particular energy source I think that we should include the
>entire life-cycle costs.  For instance, I can't believe that protesters are
>regularly complaining about the disposal of nuclear wastes while mountains of
>coal fly ash accumulate around the country.

         I'm not certain of how to construe this.  Taken at face 
value, it's easy to believe that anti-nukers are bemoaning N-waste 
while simultaneously being blissfully oblivious to the mountains of 
fly ash.  Anti-nuclearism is based on ideology, not science, and this 
particular ideology sees only nuclear waste.

>It is also baffling that using coal
>emits more radioactivity in the form of radon and other isotopes in a typical
>year than Nuclear power emits, but there doen't appear to be a group 
>protesting
>this fact.

         Same principle.  Has anyone here ever attempted to point out 
to an anti-nuker the higher rad emissions from a coal plant?  If so, 
what kind of answer did you receive?

>Then there is my pet peeve of mercury emissions from coal.

         Mercury emissions from coal plants are insignificant.

>Clearly
>we put up with a lot of otherwise unacceptable conditions because coal is a
>legacy energy source.  I don't think that we should fall into the lagacy trap
>when comparing Nuclear Power to Solar Power.  Solar thermal holds 
>much promise,
>and Solar electric has the potential to be a real game changer.
>
>  Roy Herren

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