this post was submitted on 20 Mar 2024
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Shuttering of New York facility raises awkward climate crisis questions as gas – not renewables – fills gap in power generation

When New York’s deteriorating and unloved Indian Point nuclear plant finally shuttered in 2021, its demise was met with delight from environmentalists who had long demanded it be scrapped.

But there has been a sting in the tail – since the closure, New York’s greenhouse gas emissions have gone up.

Castigated for its impact upon the surrounding environment and feared for its potential to unleash disaster close to the heart of New York City, Indian Point nevertheless supplied a large chunk of the state’s carbon-free electricity.

Since the plant’s closure, it has been gas, rather then clean energy such as solar and wind, that has filled the void, leaving New York City in the embarrassing situation of seeing its planet-heating emissions jump in recent years to the point its power grid is now dirtier than Texas’s, as well as the US average.

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[–] yesman@lemmy.world 83 points 6 months ago (85 children)

I've always been pro nuclear. But what I've come to understand is that nuclear accidents are traumatizing. Anybody alive in Europe at the time was psychologically damaged by Chernobyl. Don't forget also that the elder Xers and older worldwide lived under the specter of nuclear annihilation.

So you've got rational arguments vs. visceral fear. Rationality isn't up to it. At the end of the day, the pronuclear side is arguing to trust the authorities. Being skeptical of that is the most rational thing in the world. IDK how to fix this, I'm just trying to describe the challenge pronuclear is up against.

[–] IsoSpandy@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago (3 children)

There is a simple answer that nobody will implement. Thorium reactors, very veyy low chances of meltdowns

But the governments won't do it because you can't convert thorium to bombs

[–] TexNox@feddit.uk 8 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Disagree, sorry.

Thorium is unproven in a commercial setting, molten salt reactors in general are plagued with technological difficulties for long term operations and are limited currently to just a few research reactors dotted about the globe.

There's no denying that originally a lot of the early nuclear reactors chose uranium because of its ability to breed plutonium for nuclear weapons proliferation but nowadays that's not a factor in selection. What is a factor is proven, long-lasting designs that will reliably produce power without complex construction and expensive maintenance.

[–] IsoSpandy@lemm.ee 2 points 6 months ago

Well i didn't know this. I will read up more on this. Thank you.

that's true, but so is everything that hasnt been built since the decline of nuclear power. Frankly i don't think it really matters anymore. We struggle to build existing gen 2 and 3 plants now, we don't have gen 4 plants off the ground yet, and thorium is in that camp.

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