1/3 of Texas is without power right now...

PRCD

Tom Curren status
Feb 25, 2020
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My father was a nuclear engineer many decades ago. He spent most of his career working with the NRC on regulatory matters and ultimately was a US representative on the International Atomic Energy Commission. He lamented the political climate at that time ('70's, '80's) which prevented further nuclear development in the US and predicted that it would cost us big time. Now, to try to ramp up nuclear and construct more plants would be a decades long task. The regulatory environment in the US, which has such strict safety and engineering standards and redundancies, makes plant development extremely difficult and incredibly costly. While the strict safety standards are a good thing, I know that by the time he retired, he was on record saying that power companies wouldn't invest in nuclear because it wasn't cost effective and the regulatory environment was too onerous. So far he has been proven correct.

The only way I see nuclear being further developed here is for the government to get involved to make it feasible, and I doubt our current political climate will allow that to happen.
In the '80s, we were promised this:

WHERE IS THIS?????
 
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bobwarren

Nep status
Feb 24, 2016
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Neptune Beach FL
It will be interesting to see what happens with EVs. All these companies promising to discontinue ICE vehicles by 2030 and what not. That's a sh!t ton of mining for lithium. And oh yea, China owns most of it so, there's that.

I have nothing against EVs or alternative energy but I'm not so sure we are headed down the right path here. Hindsight will be 20/20 as always.

Edit: Tinfoil hat on - They don't want people owning personal vehicles. It's not actually meant to be a viable alternative. They want it to be outrageously expensive to own and fuel a vehicle. More control.
 
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Autoprax

Duke status
Jan 24, 2011
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Vagina Point
Being prepared for a black swan event is unnatural because the cost for preparing for something that might happen is so high with out an immediate payoff.
 
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Bob

Michael Peterson status
Apr 23, 2001
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This is precisely why they are out of power. Frozen windmills.

This is an example of why I keep saying it is impossible to meet our energy needs with wind and solar.

And guess how they unfreeze the windmills...go on, take a guess!
STOP WATCHING FOX NEWS!
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
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San Francisco, CA
It will be interesting to see what happens with EVs. All these companies promising to discontinue ICE vehicles by 2030 and what not. That's a sh!t ton of mining for lithium. And oh yea, China owns most of it so, there's that.
Northern Nevada has huge amounts of of lithium.

We don't need China or South America

But what we do need is investment....other areas of the world are ahead of the game in this respect.

Texas is the reason that the president’s dead.

@$kully


 
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bobwarren

Nep status
Feb 24, 2016
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Neptune Beach FL
Not sure why more elected officials can't be as wise as us.
I didn't really dislike politicians until I got to college and saw all the brown nosers in student gov't. None of them were very smart but they would lie, cheat and steal to get to know the right people, who also happened to be liars and cheaters. Fakest of the fake. Now all those people are actual politicians or some type of gov't lackey involved in "fundraising".

The gov't is full of these types of people. Most of these people had nothing of value to offer the private sector so gov't it is.