Story Of Windscale. Brave Men Indeed

Life, the Universe and Everything!

Moderator: Dangerous Bob

Post Reply
Nellyboy
GSV Spammer
Posts: 1872
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:12 pm
Contact:

Post by Nellyboy »

<a href="http://www.damninteresting.com/the-windscale-disaster/" target="_blank">This</a> is a story of disaster, stupidity and bravery.

Oh, and yes it is still as dangerous now as it was in 1957.

To quote the great Einstein: “a hell of a way to boil waterâ€
Image
Trig
GSV Spammer
Posts: 4555
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:18 pm
Contact:

Post by Trig »

Nuclear over fossil fuels tbh, think is we need to fire the waste at the sun not bury it.
Vomit
Advanced Member
Posts: 314
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:09 pm
Contact:

Post by Vomit »

well the new reactor isn't that far away from me. they were going to shut one of the existing units down so that makes C a replacement as opposed to an addition.

I have mixed feelings over nuclear power, but i really do think that green energy should be explored further than it is. their are plenty of places in this country that are windy most of the time, we have some fast flowing rivers. If people really don't want nuclear and everyone is worrying about global warming then sacrifices must be made to provide electricity.

if was in power the first thing i would do is to make all new buildings have 100% solar panel roofing, no exceptions. sounds expensive, probably would be, but no need to tile the roof first so slightly less cost.
Image
Image
Trig
GSV Spammer
Posts: 4555
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:18 pm
Contact:

Post by Trig »

I agree, there should be a much harder push for us all to live greener lives, solar panels and the rest of it.

Problem with nuclear is it scares people, you never hear news stories about how nice they are and how well they work, its all about when shit goes wrong and people die :lol:

People dont want ugly windfarms near them, they dont want this that or the other, but are happy to go home and bury their head under the duvet when it comes to where the power they use is actually coming from.

Nuclear is safer than its ever been, and its more often than not the issues with where the waste goes that bothers people, I say we fire it at the sun using big chuffing rockets but thats gonna cost...
Hammer
GSV Spammer
Posts: 2252
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:13 pm
Location: Carlisle
Contact:

Post by Hammer »

I live in Cumbria. This is the place for wind & tidal energy, maybe not so much solar though!
Image
Nellyboy
GSV Spammer
Posts: 1872
Joined: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:12 pm
Contact:

Post by Nellyboy »

If all houses had to have 100% solar tiles then they would be as cheap as normal tiles in a year or so. Just look at the price of electronics, flash memory etc.

Houses built in elsewhere are so efficient they rarely need heating. Ours are like a colendar in comparison. Why?

Something is wrong with the world when a bunch of bananas from the other side of the world can be bought in perfect condition for under a pound.

If a petrol engine is 90% inefficient and an electric one 99% efficient where are all the electric cars?
Image
smoop
Advanced Member
Posts: 59
Joined: Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:36 pm
Contact:

Post by smoop »

The grass never greener, its always the same off brown as over here.

"Spent" nuclear fuel rods still have close to 99% of their nuclear material, they are thrown away as waste because there's big money in storing it. The rods become corroded for lack of a better term at which point they can be put in a different type of boiler that utilises that "corrosion" and some more of the nuclear energy. This process can be repeated indefinitely until the fuel rod is spent and it is 100% safe to pick up with a bare hand.

Nuclear is the way to go as long as this method is used. Ideally, we need to do away with currency in order to leverage real economic change or people will always play smoke and mirrors with the safety of our nation for profit.

Regarding electric cars, who do you think holds shares in Shell, BP etc the big wigs of car companies. It is in their interest to hide cleaner alternatives, once again, for profit.
Last edited by smoop on Wed Oct 23, 2013 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image

Image
Claw
GSV Spammer
Posts: 2942
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 12:41 am
Contact:

Post by Claw »

Scientists probably know how to manage Nuclear power, but Politicians never will. We've seen it many times over where there has been a Nuclear Reactor/Submarine/Facility disaster and initial vitally needed steps are ignored to save political 'face'. Or, they simply refuse help.

Then again, even scientists can be really stupid... who in their right mind would build a Nuclear Power Station on an oceanic coastline? It's a bit like having an electric heater teetering on the edge of the bathtub you're sat in. Capitalism and Ecology have an awkward relationship, as has been said already. Just think how much the NHS would be saving if smoking had been done away with donkey's years ago? Just as they are doing with smoking now, I think they may follow a similar template with Petrol and Diesel, one day. The survival of the financially fittest is a really, really bad theory and policy.

I'd doubt we would ever see any rational Government firing volatile waste into space. It's a great idea, but fraught with the danger of it not launching correctly, or not succeeding in escaping Earth's Gravity, and then hurtling down to Earth again. If ever there was a Nuclear war of sorts, each side would be rightfully afraid of their own weapons just as much as they would be of their enemy's, hence the use of Nuclear armed Submarines. (those with up to date Sat Nav's that is)

Go get some Solar Panels, they're good, and they won't Carbonize you when the go wrong.
Last edited by Claw on Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Just be a nutter... life becomes much more exciting, and people won't expect anything more of you...
Trig
GSV Spammer
Posts: 4555
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:18 pm
Contact:

Post by Trig »

Solars crap though for pretty much everything, however as Nelly said, the more people want them the price will go down and tech curve go up so maybe in 10/15 years it'll be a go'er.

In an ideal world we'd all have panels, catch rain water for flushing the bog with etc and houses would be properly thermally insulated/computer controlled where solar heated water would then be passed through the walls/floor for heating and stuff like that, all lights LED/Low power and the likes...
Vomit
Advanced Member
Posts: 314
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:09 pm
Contact:

Post by Vomit »

100% solar panel every building in the country, build more wind farms and maybe a few water wheels and tidal power plants too. use the excess daytime electricity to make hydrogen gas, burn the gas in adapted gas fired power stations.

I would have an interest in an electric car providing:

200 mile winter range (lights, heating and wipers all need electricity too)
didn't cost stupid amounts to buy
took around an hour to get get 50% charge
didnt look like shite
could do the 200 miles cruising at 80~ 90mph
had a top speed of about 120mph
had a thick smoke discharging unit for gassing cyclists that refuse to use the cycle lanes where roads have been narrowed to provide them with their own lane!!!!!
Image
Image
Trig
GSV Spammer
Posts: 4555
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:18 pm
Contact:

Post by Trig »

Cyclist's don't have to actually use the cycle lanes though, its not a law ;)
Vomit
Advanced Member
Posts: 314
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 11:09 pm
Contact:

Post by Vomit »

yup, your correct m8, its not law that I dont do my best to make as much diesel soot and decide to wash all my screens when passing them that are not in the lane that they don't have to be in (:D)
Image
Image
Claw
GSV Spammer
Posts: 2942
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 12:41 am
Contact:

Post by Claw »

The most effective methods for helping people help the environment are those that involve as little effort, or as little behaviour modification as possible. People in general will do the easier things, and the common approach to changing that is peer pressure.

For example, we recently started buying bags of milk from Sainsbury's. These are1 litre bags of milk that you place into a purpose made plastic jug, which you buy as a one-off thing for the bags of milk. We buy these so that we are helping the environment by not buying and disposing of those 4-6 litre plastic containers. But, it's a real bind having to go through the milk-bag changing ceremony; opening the jug, taking out the bag and pouring out whatever milk the jug couldn't dispense, then washing the jug, then inserting the bag and clipping it in. Finally you close the lid which punctures the bag making it ready to pour. Because the bags only hold 1 litre, this becomes quite a repetitive ceremony. The bagged milk works out as more expensive than the plastic containers, and I'm wondering if it's worth it,
Just be a nutter... life becomes much more exciting, and people won't expect anything more of you...
Trig
GSV Spammer
Posts: 4555
Joined: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:18 pm
Contact:

Post by Trig »

What they need to do is make a 3d printer than has some sort of plastic recycling attachment built into it.
Drink milk, clean plastic bottle, put plastic bottle in unit, add colouring, print.

THAT, would be a fucking cool idea..
Claw
GSV Spammer
Posts: 2942
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2006 12:41 am
Contact:

Post by Claw »

Okay, this is getting interesting. In various Gyres there are hundreds of thousands of miles, or as much as millions of miles, of floating plastic junk in those areas of the Oceans. Even if they started cleaning it up now and stopped all further releases of plastics into the Oceans, (just being theoretical here) the stuff that is already on its way there will continue to accumulate for nearly a decade.

If they don't find a way to recycle the plastic that is already out there, then these 3D printers are only going to add to the problem. In the same way that the advent of computers, with ink based printers, led to an increase of wasted paper. Another thing that ink based printers required was a specific type of paper, requiring certain chemical processes, etc. So, your suggestion of needing a means to use available waste plastics rather than just purpose-made plastic modules/blocks is going to be significant, even paramount.
Just be a nutter... life becomes much more exciting, and people won't expect anything more of you...
Post Reply