You're right that it's a very much a PR issue; Three Mile Island is also fresh in people's mind, but what they don't realize is that Three Mile Island was a *success*. The problem was contained, and it didn't turn into Chernobyl, which was a worst case scenario (in terms of both design and maintenance).
There are some prominent Greens who are starting to realize that if you want to get serious about emissions, and do it in a timely manner, you're going to have to have nukes. And it is doable -- France produces 80% of its power from nuclear power plants. Granted, it's a smaller country, but even if 50% of America's power was produced by nukes, it would make a hell of a difference.
I think the region probably makes the difference with regards the viability of using an electric car for day to day transport. I used to commute into New Jersey, driving 100 miles round trip for seven years, in stop-and-go high way traffic. And that's not unusual around here, which is probably why you see a lot more hybrids.
That said, having an electric car as a secondary vehicle seems like it could be a viable strategy.
Sat, 08/04/2007 - 8:27am
Wired had a great article on nuclear power about two years ago, talking about next-gen nuke projects and how today's nukes are very different from yesterdays in terms of waste storage, chance of catastrophic failure, etc.
You're right that it's a very much a PR issue; Three Mile Island is also fresh in people's mind, but what they don't realize is that Three Mile Island was a *success*. The problem was contained, and it didn't turn into Chernobyl, which was a worst case scenario (in terms of both design and maintenance).
There are some prominent Greens who are starting to realize that if you want to get serious about emissions, and do it in a timely manner, you're going to have to have nukes. And it is doable -- France produces 80% of its power from nuclear power plants. Granted, it's a smaller country, but even if 50% of America's power was produced by nukes, it would make a hell of a difference.
I think the region probably makes the difference with regards the viability of using an electric car for day to day transport. I used to commute into New Jersey, driving 100 miles round trip for seven years, in stop-and-go high way traffic. And that's not unusual around here, which is probably why you see a lot more hybrids.
That said, having an electric car as a secondary vehicle seems like it could be a viable strategy.
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