Worried about radiation from Japan, you shouldn't be...

[GarlicEater]

It's Captain Picard doing the face-palm.

 

[ivan3]

chickened wrote: I got your point but am trying to get the significance of the picture, help me here.

I grokked the ascii art Captain Picard `facepalm' out of the box but have no idea as to the prof's concern.

Maybe upset by the fact that we didn't go to `Gen4+' reactors 40yrs ago (Integral Fast Reactors) so the units would shut down and cool off without external sources of cooling or electricity? That have no `hot' spent fuel stored because what there is of it is being reprocessed and fed back into the reactors? It is an engineering prof., after all.​

 

[hollymh]

I'm about 1400 miles from Japan and only slightly worried about it... I can't believe some people

 

[chickened]

Got it!
Quote:
I grokked the ascii art Captain Picard `facepalm' out of the box but have no idea as to the prof's concern.

Maybe upset by the fact that we didn't go to `Gen4+' reactors 40yrs ago (Integral Fast Reactors) so the units would shut down and cool off without external sources of cooling or electricity? That have no `hot' spent fuel stored because what there is of it is being reprocessed and fed back into the reactors? It is an engineering prof., after all.

 

[Dunkopf]

The reactors are safe as long as they don't melt down for some reason. Then it can be relatively bad or really bad. They are the most expensive form of electricity out there, but may end up being our last alternative. So what you gonna do when they build one near you? Just cross your fingers. At least they look a lot better than a refinery and don't stink near as much.

 

[pdsavage]

Quote:
I would rather look at a wind turbine or solar panels.Infact if I could talk hubby into it I woul have sky lights to cut back even more on electrictricity.

 

[Whispering Winds]

My DH worked for a power producing plant (coal fired) for over 37 years) and when the N. plant was being built in Clinton, Il, which I now think is shut down, I remember him saying it was too soon to be doing this to the general public. The government hadn't researched it enough to know exactly what would happen if there was a melt down, it would cause nation wide panic and a reaction around the world. Was he ever right. But, on the other hand, I feel so badly for the Japanese people, the families with babies and the fear this has caused them about their children. Yahoo news just reported that there is fear of a major melt down or something, can't remember the exact term used, today because of something else going wrong. Regardless of whether we should worry or not, we DO live in scary times, and with the jack leg politicians we have, we rarely if ever know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

 

[Dunkopf]

Quote:
I would rather look at a wind turbine or solar panels.Infact if I could talk hubby into it I woul have sky lights to cut back even more on electrictricity.

I absolutely would too. It would be great to make my own power. Solar is very expensive as is wind. The only feasible way to do it is on a mass scale with subsidies and that ain't happening anytime soon. Top on the list of any issue is cost, impact on people is next and then impact on environment is last. It's a screwy way to do it but that's the way it is. Can't breathe money but if you have enough of it you can live in a real nice place with it's own supply of clean air.