Saving the world through Renewable Nuclear Energy!

Transcription

1 Saving the world through Renewable Nuclear Energy! April 21, 2012 Pecha Kucha 1

2 Assumptions I assume you believe the following Energy is important Global warming is bad Fossil Fuels are therefore bad Sustainable/Renewable energy is good We should invest more into Solar and Wind technology Nuclear power is dangerous Nuclear power is bad for the environment Nuclear radiation is dangerous Pecha Kucha 2

3 Current state of energy production Pecha Kucha 3

4 Issues with Solar/Wind - Magnitude Wind - not just for hippies any more. Denmark generates 18% of its energy through Wind generation. Goal for US is 20% wind power in the next few decades. Pecha Kucha 4

5 Issues with Solar/Wind Transmission Need to transmit power across the country To where we live From where it s sunny Pecha Kucha 5

6 Issues with Solar/Wind Storage The sun doesn t shine all day. Sometimes it doesn t shine for a week or more. Solution? : Build a big ass battery! Ffestiniog Power Station near Gwynedd 360MW Solution? : Use a Prius! Pumps water up at night, lets it fall down during the day! Pecha Kucha 6

7 Issues with Solar/Wind Not a contender The geographic and temporal variability of Solar and Wind are serious barriers to replacing coal as the major energy provider. There is no technology in the foreseeable future which solves these problems. We need an alternative baseline energy Pecha Kucha 7

8 Nuclear - Need a baseline energy source The Danish said We want Wind!, did a stunning job, and achieved a stunning 18%. The French said We want ze nuclaire! and achieved 75%. Pecha Kucha 8

9 Nuclear - Concerns Nuclear Catastrophe - Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, etc... Nuclear Waste Proliferation of weapons materials to people we don t like Low level radiation Terrorism Pecha Kucha 9

10 Nuclear - Chernobyl 400x more radioactive material released than Hiroshima Spread over hundreds of miles 237 response workers suffered Acute Radiation Sickness (31 died within months) 216 deaths among workers eventually attributed to the disaster 4000 cases of thyroid cancer estimated total deaths But that was Russia, in the 1980s. Current nuclear plants are fool proof... Pecha Kucha 10

11 Introduction Solar/Wind Nuclear Conclusion Nuclear - Sweden! Anecdote - Russia didn t announce We may have just flooded Eastern Europe with radioactive material Sweden figured it out Scary thought: Sweden is 680 miles away Pecha Kucha 11

12 Nuclear - Fukushima But that was Russia, in the 1980s. Current nuclear plants are fool proof... cocky nuclear scientists Caused by a GFT (Giant Fucking Tsunami) 1/10 th radiation released as Chernobyl Resulting deaths from cancer estimated at Pecha Kucha 12

13 Nuclear - vs. Coal 100,000 miners in the US have died from Coal historically Today we re down to 30 direct deaths per year 6000 deaths annually in China 4000 new cases of black lung in US annually Vivid is not the same as true. Its far easier to amplify sudden and horrible outcomes than it is to talk about the slow, grinding reality of day to day strife Some guy on the internet Increased risks of respiratory illness to general population Global warming Pecha Kucha 13

14 Nuclear - Yucca Mountain National Waste Repository Nevada Nuclear testing site Cancelled due to political concerns Pecha Kucha 14

15 Nuclear - Where is the waste now? Going for a swim! Lying in the sun! Pecha Kucha 15

16 Coal waste - Sequestration Lets not forget that Coal also has a waste problem. This problem is arguably more serious. Pecha Kucha 16

17 Conclusion Nuclear Power We re better than Coal! Pecha Kucha 17

18 Nuclear - Terrorism What happens when you crash a plane into a Nuclear plant? Pecha Kucha 18