Published on Monday, January 10, 2022
I stand by my decision to promote nuclear power.
Kinetic, as presented in the debate is not an effective source of power. The largest hydrogen cell plant in the world can only sustain around 40 000 households and is also hooked up to a chemical factory.
Hydropower, as presented in the debate is also not an effective source of power. However, I do think that the hydropower currently used in British Columbia is a decent option. Although hydropower is associated with several cons, including but not limited to environmental destruction, it is still one of the most reliable sources of renewable power.
Tidal, as presented in the debate is also not an effective source of power. Single propeller turbines may be effective in remote communities, but they will not come close to powering municipalities. Tidal basins, which are effective sources of power in countries such as South Korea, cause even more environmental destruction than hydroelectric dams.
Biothermal is the only other power source that can compete with nuclear power in energy reliability. Unfortunately, the carbon created by biothermal plants still takes ~50 years to be recaptured by new growth, which is not what the world needs right now. Using waste in biothermal power is still better than letting it go to a landfill, but there isn’t enough of that to power municipalities.
Solar and Wind are the only sources of power that I would consider viable. Unfortunately, neither are reliable enough to comprise a large amount of the power grid, and both require lots of batteries.
Geothermal is perhaps the most viable renewable power source. It causes low damage to the environment and is a reliable source of power. The only cons appear to be high construction costs, and a low risk of earthquakes, though the highest number I could find was a 4.0 magnitude earthquake, and that was from a plant located directly above a fault line.
Which brings us back to nuclear. It’s a reliable source of power and we have a solution for waste. There have been no fatal accidents in the last ten years, and throughout all of history, it’s killed far less people than coal power, and no more than other sources of renewable power. Though the costs are higher, nuclear power also has a smaller footprint and is not reliant on any specific geographic features or climate.
I believe in nuclear power.