greg_barton

no one wants a nuclear plant around

I want a nuclear plant around. I'd be just fine having one in my neighborhood.

Am I no one?

And based on the progress we've made on climate change so far, you could use the same argument that "no one" wants to do what needs to be done to fix the problem. Does that mean we should not fix the problem?

Nuclear power and geoengineering are not solutions to the ecological crisis;

If the situation is dire enough, however, they may be the only way to avoid catastrophe. Would you deny us the option of avoiding a climate catastrophe?

Nuclear power could well slow down the transition

Don't you write extensively on the creation of false scarcity? :) There's more than enough resources to go around right now to support both renewables and nuclear. Pitting them against each other only serves fossil fuel interests, who love to see their competition fight one another.

in the near-term nuclear is “not carbon-free, no matter what the advocates tell you..."

Neither are renewables, by the exact same argument.

Much of the support for nuclear power as a solution to global warming is based on the promise of “next generation” nuclear technologies.

Not so. Supporting existing nuclear means supporting the largest source of low carbon power, right now. And Gen III+ reactors under construction right now like the AP-1000 have passive safety features. No need to depend on "next generation" reactors for that. As for waste, the NRC has approved of long term storage options, and the only current impediments to Yucca Mountain going forward are political ones.

I hope someone is protecting vote tabulation cyber infrastructure at the state level. To fit with AMA rules I’ll ask: is someone protecting vote tabulation cyber infrastructure at the state level? :)

Opposition to nuclear is counterproductive, as is opposition to renewables. We should actively support all low carbon options available.

Good answer, but he didn't address thorium and other 4th generation designs. Maybe in the ensuing 11 months he's looked into it.