Nuclear Power

[ChrisZoZo]

Fission

I disagreed with Leo's choice on nuclear power, as although i have not looked in to the Fukuyama disaster as leo suggested too. I think that with very secure protocols like having the whole nuclear rectors submerged under 100 tones of water, not being allowed to build near a earthquake zone would  make nuclear power very viable. Also nuclear power is a best hope (i think) at providing a solution to climate change.

Fusion

I don't think Fusion would be a good idea on the other hand. We would have to much energy and that with how  egoistical are planet is we would just create much much greater problems than we have now. For those that don't know nuclear fusion is just nuclear fission with out the radioactive waste so it would be so cheap that we would basically have unlimited energy.

What are you thoughts also add too the poll of what your option is right now. 

 

[Apparition of Jack]

As far as meeting our immediate energy needs, I don't see a reason why humanity can't just use wind + solar + geothermal + hydroelectric etc. to replace fossil fuels. We have all the technology and resources to meet our global energy needs a hundred times over with these alone, no unstable fission reactors needed. The only thing that's missing right now is the motivation/consciousness to get there.

With that being said, something in my gut tells me that fusion energy will very interesting to research regardless, so long as its done responsibly and consciously. I imagine any long-term colonisation of space will require us to harness some form of nuclear fusion, for instance. We could use it to power continent-sized supercomputers to create the most accurate models of society, materialist physics, and so on. It's the literally the power of the Sun, which could be harnessed for tremendous good if done right.

[outlandish]

Fission:

I voted pro fission, but with some big qualifications. This is something I've definitely flip flopped on a lot in my life, and can't say I feel completely settled on. We're definitely headed towards catastrophic global warming right now if we don't make some changes. Nuclear is part of the answer that many scientists and environmentalists are urging us to reconsider, and I think it's worth looking at. I'm not pro-fission if we're talking about traditional nuclear power plant tech, but there are many next generation nuclear techs that solve the problems with previous generations of fission power. We're not talking Chernobyl or Fukushima, the Model T Fords of Fission technology.

Fusion:

I'm pro-fusion, in my opinion it's one of Humanity's great callings to solve this puzzle. It won't perfect or as utopic as it's been hyped up to be, but it will be several orders of magnitude better than anything we have at the moment.

In the meantime, we already have an amazing fusion reactor running, and we even have the technology to harness it's power - the Sun, and photovoltaics. PV is already cheaper than coal in many parts of the world. Again, it has it's own problems and challenges, but it sure beats fossil fuels.

Great poll!