this post was submitted on 17 May 2024
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You understand that there are already too many greenhouse gases, right? By the time we do all of this there will be even more. It's not like the grid is the only (or even the majority) of greenhouse gases. How do you account for both all the past emmisions and all the future emissions plus emissions from other sources?
The main alternatives being French and Chinese reactor designs. I can understand why the USA doesn't want to use Chinese reactors, we in the UK made a similar decision and went with French designs instead if I am remembering correctly. I wouldn't be against the USA using French designs. The thing is though I can't see how more research could possibly be a bad thing, we have much work to do in both fission and fusion technologies. Putting all our bets in China or France might not be the best idea.
The rate at which we produce green house has exceeded the rate at which it is absorbed and fixed.
Carbon capture attempts to accelerate the rate of carbon fixing at a very high per-ton economic cost. Meanwhile, turning off fossil plants and replacing them with renewable energy reduces the rate of per-ton generation at a comparably low cost.
If you're on a sinking ship, there's little point in bailing when you haven't plugged the hole.
Pure reactionary xenophobia. Chinese thorium reactors are cutting edge, and we're adding degree points to the global average by not adopting it ASAP.
Putting money on Westinghouse has consistently cost us enormously.
We need to be doing both. Once the grid is fixed or close to it then we will need carbon capture to reverse the damage. It's either that or massive reforestation or using algae or something (liquid trees anyone?).
If they own the plant they could theoretically sabotage it. Would they in practice? No idea but so long as the USA believes they might they won't use Chinese technology.
Neither the USA or China are good regimes. To be honest I want to see them both either broken or re-formed.
Westinghouse aren't the only people in the USA doing nuclear research afaik. I believe the DOE national laboratory does research on fusion for example. There are private companies like NuScale also working on fission designs in the USA.
In proportion to their value add. Enormous investments in a low yield long shot against minor investment in a sure thing is a bad strategy
It's not a long shot though. We already know this technology works as it has been tested on small scales.
Factually inaccurate
Prove it.
Fuel Cells Are Not the Problem, the Hydrogen Fuel Is
If you were familiar with the technology, you'd understand why it has failed to come to market for so long. You need enormous subsidies to sell vehicles and even then you cannot efficiently produce "Green H~2~"
We were talking about direct carbon capture in this thread. Hydrogen was a separate topic.
Carbon Capture costs are far higher than reducing emissions with each ton of carbon costing between $230 and $540.
Halting emissions is the most efficient method of reducing total emissions. Capture is extraordinarily expensive and inefficient, particularly when you're still using carbon-based infrastructure to power compressors.
So just because it's expensive right now means we shouldn't do it or research it? Now you sound like the people advocating against renewables.
This isn't a "right now" issue. Its been an ongoing problem since the '90s. And yes, throwing 10x your investment in a working solution on a speculative technology for 35 years running is a bad idea.
The O&G industry has been the primary promoter of fuel cell technology. They never deliver and they've had far more money and time to work on this problem than the nascent solar and wind industries.
Why do you keep changing the topic to hydrogen?
Two different conversations.