Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: Vicious words mark the war between pro and anti-nuclear environmentalists [View all]izquierdista
(11,689 posts)I think the common ground between the two is to get nuclear out of the biosphere that we inhabit. That can be done, while still having the benefits of nuclear power if we BURY the reactors. This idea is not new, and a detailed article in the October 1971 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists provides an engineering insight into how it could be done (find it here: http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/21569695/underground-nuclear-power-plants)
A more modern version of the idea can be found here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2011/03/29/singapore-considers-underground-nuclear-reactors/
There's no doubt that nuclear power plant guts are toxic to all forms of life on the planet. The obvious solution is to make sure they are not on the planet, but in the planet. It's amazing the amount of radiation shielding you get from just a half a mile of overburden. And there are plenty of played out mines that, with a little bit of geo-engineering, would be perfect for siting a nuclear power plant. When something goes wrong, not even if, but when something eventually goes wrong, isolating it can be done cheaply and quickly.