The Serious Discussion Thread.

[Grier]

I've just heard a different slant on the debate.
I heard an expert in the field saying Nuclear reactors would be a good back up when renewable energy falls short with little wind or sun. That makes sense but doubt reactors could be comissioned before 2040.
Current Nuclear reactors are very safe nowadays too, so it's said.

Snowy 2.0 with hydro power storage is a good idea too but that's run into problems with big cost overuns. Pity.

 

[Grier]

Kreping my ear to ABC radio Kram, I hear more aspects to the debate.
Another issue is the disposing of radioactive waste.
Where? How about Bondi in Sydney? Also there's a huge cost in decommissioning Nuclear reactors.

The bright side is that Nuclear reactors have a much longer life span that renewable systems. That factors into the costings.
As for dumping the deadly toxic waste I remember one solution to build a big well kilometres deep to dispose of it in big tough barrels which could be concreted in for later generations. That might be not so bad a thing as future technologies could utilise it?
I'm sure the surfers at Bondi wouldn't mind.

But for all this debate, what about using fields of big Lithium batteries to store electricity? That's happening already in SA I think? We have heaps of Lithium and Rare Earths in Western Australia and moves are afoot to create an industry of down streaming to make our own batteries. We're already told the Chinese they can't invest in mining our rare earths and we shouldn't rely on them (for obvious reasons) to manufacture those batteries, and for us to become subservient to them.

In fact, there are other ways we can store power for when the renewables are running at low capavity, like hydro, hydrogen, other gases compressed, ....

I'm no expert but feel there still is a place for nuclear reactors in the mix. It's very reliable and not affected by weather conditions or storage issues. Earthquakes and tsunamis tho! Maybe Bondi is a bad location?

We have heaps of Uranium in our Ausralia, like in the NT.

I'm sitting on the fence a bit too now. Especially if it'll take til ~ 2040 to get reactors up and running, so best get started soon?

 

[Richie]

it wouldn't be a big vote winner and easy to campaign against.

Yes a decade ago as we still lived in the dark ages re climate change. Europe has been using nuke power for decades, so have the Yanks, the Pommies have just turned towards it and will soon build their first MOD NUKE reactor same as Dutton wants.

 

[Richie]

2040 to get reactors up and running,

Yes evidently it takes a whopping decade to actually connect a traditional reactor to a grid. What about a far smaller MNR tho?
Whatever the pros and cons, the big picture, the future of our planet and the 1.5 billion tonnes less polluting greenhouse gases globally every year, has to take precedence.

 

[Grier]

Yes evidently it takes a whopping decade to actually connect a traditional reactor to a grid. What about a far smaller MNR tho?
Whatever the pros and cons, the big picture, the future of our planet and the 1.5 billion tonnes less polluting greenhouse gases globally every year, has to take precedence.

I agree that the limitation of greenhouse gases takes precedence Craig and safe "modular nuclear reactors" (MNRs) sound tempting.
Their production is in its infancy though and not on the market yet, to approved purchasers. We ANZACs qualify!
Maybe we should wait a bit?
And won't our ordered nuclear subs have those MNRs?

About where to store the nuclear radioactive waste, well we're a big brown land with many stable and desolate unoccupied lands.
Of course there would be the usual expected protests.
Drill a hole 5km deep to store it?

 

[Richie]

Drill a hole 5km deep to store it?

Precisely Terry. Then cover it with concrete.

 

[Richie]

We ANZACs qualify!
Maybe we should wait a bit?

Why wait and buy someone elses. We Aussies are innovators here in the 21st Century, so we should now be leaders and no longer followers. The Poms already have the jump on us as they have started to build their first MNR. We cant let them beat us. They will likely need our uranium to build the rest.

 

[Grier]

We already have one old and small functional nuclear reactor OPAL in Lucas Heights in your Sydley Craig.
I wonder if we could make our own MNRs here?
Eventually hopefully, and in the electorate of appropriately named Dickson. Land could be aquired for Uranium storage along with its waste materials.

 

[Richie]

We already have one old and small functional nuclear reactor OPAL in Lucas Heights in your Sydley Craig.

ANSTO mate. It is no more than 5ks from where I live. Was built in the 70s , produces isotopes mainly for medical procedures such as radiation therapy.

 

[Grier]

ANSTO mate. It is no more than 5ks from where I live. Was built in the 70s , produces isotopes mainly for medical procedures such as radiation therapy.

That's fine, and important.

 

[Jessica 🤗]

Since my mums accident I've lost track of everything here, sorry my friends, I will catch up with everything though

 

[Richie]

Iran's new President the moderate Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to open Iran to the world and deliver freedoms its people have yearned for.

That is good news. Baffling how the hard-liners permitted his victory to be honest. Guess it proves Iran is a democracy after all.

 

[Richie]

Russian missile attack kills 36, hits children's hospital in Kyiv.​

FU**ERS

 

[Grier]

Russian missile attack kills 36, hits children's hospital in Kyiv.​

FU**ERS

Putin is a despicable War Criminal. May he burn in Hell.

Netanyahu is another such monster!

 

[Grier]

I should also mention the Chinese government sanctioned Cyber criminals just outed by Australia followed by other nations.

The value of stolen accounts, passwords, new tech and IT is in the hundreds of billions yet they have the immoral temerity to reply with transparent and childish denials. Liars caught with their hands in our and others' Cyber tills! Thieves.

Imagine a world or empire governed by such a totalitarian regime. It'd be worse than Orwell's 1984 book.

 

[looker-on]

Russian missile attack kills 36, hits children's hospital in Kyiv.​

FU**ERS

And Peskov cynically denied that Russia had attacked the hospital and claimed, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian anti-missile fire was to blame for Monday's strike.

 

[Richie]

And Peskov cynically denied that Russia had attacked the hospital and claimed, without providing evidence, that Ukrainian anti-missile fire was to blame for Monday's strike.

Yes I read this too.

 

[Grier]

One just can't trust the Russians' words.
They lie and lie all the time.

It is the worst of war crimes to attack a Children's hospital.

I heard they did so to terrorise and demoralize the Ukrainian populace who are already stressed greatly.

 

[Kram81]

“I wouldn’t have picked vice president Trump to be vice president if I didn’t think she was qualified to be president,”

 

[Grier]

Here's something new I just read on the ABC web news page about cheap anti drone drones!

In short: ​

South Korea has announced plans to deploy lasers to shoot down drones sent by North Korea.​

South Korea says it can shoot down North Korean drones using lasers for $2.15 a shot

Officials say the technology will allow them to shoot down unmanned aerial vehicles from the North but not all experts are convinced.

www.abc.net.au

Officials say the technology is invisible, noise-free, runs on electricity alone and costs $AU2.15 per shot.
The technology is set to be rolled out this year.



I wonder how long it'll take other nations to develop, get, acquire, buy or steal this technology?
It'd be nice to see Ukraine use it againt Russian drones.
Being a cheap defensive weapon it'll make enemy drones less effective and save lives.
Then I guess the next step is anti anti drones or systems ....