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The dilute nature of water, sunlight, and wind means that at least 450 times more land and 10 - 15 times more concrete, cement, steel, and glass, are required than for nuclear plants.
All of that material throughput results in renewables creating large quantities of waste, much of it toxic.
For example, solar panels create 200 - 300 times more hazardous waste than nuclear, with none of it required to be recycled or safely contained outside of the European Union.
The World Nuclear Association wrote in its Nov. 25, 2008 report "World Energy Needs and Nuclear Power," published on its website:
"The renewable energy sources for electricity constitute a diverse group, from wind, solar, tidal and wave energy to hydro, geothermal and biomass-based power generation. Apart from hydro power in the few places where it is very plentiful, none of these is suitable, intrinsically or economically, for large-scale power generation where continuous, reliable supply is needed...
Without nuclear power the world would have to rely almost entirely on fossil fuels, especially coal, to meet electricity demands for base-load electricity production...
Increasing fossil fuel prices have greatly improved the economics of nuclear power for electricity now. Several studies show that nuclear energy is the most cost-effective of the available base-load technologies. In addition, as carbon emission reductions are encouraged through various forms of government incentives and trading schemes, the economic benefits of nuclear power will increase further."
originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
The average U.S. household uses almost twice as much electricity as an average Australian household[16],
Renewables stress the grid Perry Williams,
The Australian Australia’s electricity grid is relying on emergency safety nets to keep the lights on, …
The deterioration of the strength of the electricity network — most pronounced in South Australia — is also spreading to southwest NSW, northwest Victoria and north Queensland, adding to wholesale costs incurred by users.
SA’s electricity system is increasingly operating under the direct intervention of the grid operator, with last-ditch interventions reserved for emergencies becoming a default way of managing the network,…
“Systems with lots of non-synchronous generation like wind and solar are weaker and harder to control — raising the risk of cascading blackouts. Unprecedented in their breadth and scope, these trends put extraordinary pressure on the security and reliability of our power grid.” Investment in large-scale renewable energy doubled in 2018 to $20 billion, with one in five Australians now owning rooftop solar and electricity generated by clean energy accounting for 21 per cent of the overall power mix, Clean Energy Council data will show today.
originally posted by: dfnj2015
originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
The average U.S. household uses almost twice as much electricity as an average Australian household[16],
If you want energy efficiency you have to have top down community design. It's not not people in the US "use" so much energy. It's just that the technology systems the US has in place in order to live require a lot of energy the way the controlling interest in the US want it to be.
The answer is not for people to stop using cars. The answer is we need transportation technology solutions that are more efficient. People need on-demand transportation. You can't have electric cars is there is no inexpensive highly available way to charge them.
originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: ChaoticOrder
I'm pretty sure all the fossil fuels the World is burning everyday is causing a pollution problem.
originally posted by: LSU2018
originally posted by: dfnj2015
a reply to: ChaoticOrder
I'm pretty sure all the fossil fuels the World is burning everyday is causing a pollution problem.
If anything, it's stopping the normal heating period from starting.
originally posted by: ChaoticOrder
Well I'm glad Labour didn't get into power but I don't think we really have as much choice as we like to believe. I still find it surprising how many Australians seem to have this perception that the liberals are a right leaning conservative party who love big corporations and have no concern for the environment. They are pro business but it's more pro small to medium businesses since they are so important to our economy.
However they aren't called the Liberals for no reason, they hold many liberal and progressive ideals. In reality they are much closer to the Democrats than they are to Republicans, but politics in Australia is centered much more to the left so we view the Liberal Party as right leaning whereas they'd probably be considered a left wing party in the U.S. because they do support a considerable amount of traditionally leftist policies.
For example the Morrison government proposed banning "violent videos" as a reactionary response to the Christchurch shooting video. A few months ago there was a ban on "decorative" knives in NSW. Right wing personalities including Lauren Southern and Milo Yiannopoulos have been banned from Australia by the Morrison government. David Icke was also recently banned from entering Australia because apparently his opinions on vaccines and global warming are unacceptable.
We know, too, that the climate is sick and tired. And things are getting worse.
Most of us now fear the kind of planet we are leaving behind for our kids and grandkids.
Just last weekend we learnt that the planet’s CO2 levels had broken all records and were at their highest in the last 800,000 years. Human beings have never existed, let alone survived, in an atmosphere such as this.
Our summers have never been hotter, our riverbeds drier, our farmers more desperate, our native animals more endangered. As the magnificent David Attenborough has warned us, we are in the midst of a climate emergency.
I agree that people have to be pragmatic about trying to responsibly address our energy mix, and we also have to follow the law of diminishing returns.
I've heard of a lot of optimistic technologies on the horizon, and right now I think fusion reactors may be one of the keys.