Originally Posted by renth (Post 9247069)

Sorry mate I don't watch CNN or MSNBC so I don't know what their angle is but I did see your Teleprompter Reader in Chief - President Owebama telling everyone in the US that "everything is fine".

Originally Posted by jimbo_d (Post 9247184)

Power is back on now, this was what the real experts were hoping for as the start of the end for this part of the disaster, if they can keep the pumps cooling the reactors. Now hopefully the media can start looking at the elephant in the room in the humanitarian crisis in Japan. The media globally have been really quite sick in their coverage of the nuclear incident, hyping up any possible risk of meltdown shame on them.

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 9247271)

Power production ceased in 2000.
As Vegie said earlier, they really had little choice but to keep the rest of the plant running. It would have been that, or turn the lights off. Info here

http://www.power-technology.com/projects/chernobyl/

Originally Posted by Turban Explorer (Post 9247293)

It's disturbing how the German government has suddenly gone full steam towards an exit from nuclear power. I would have hoped if anything good comes out of the catastrophe in Japan it would be investment in new technology to render nuclear power safer. Reversing straight back into fossil fuel means a set back to clean energy of decades.

A lot of nuclear design technology used is from the 1950s. Japan should be the wake up call that Western governments need to invest in hi tech safer and cleaner facilities - not to give up on it for short term political gain. The public misconception that all nuclear power is bad has prevented many governments from exploiting potentially earth saving source of power. I think governments should be educating people away from that paranoia rather than pandering to it.

France has nearly 80% nuclear power. They clearly don't have the same paranoia that so many other populi have fallen into.

Originally Posted by Cape Blue (Post 9247047)

Conventional hydro on its own powers lots of industrial plants and is a well known source of baseload and topping power. As the full costs of fossil and nuclear fuels get internalized we will start to see renewables being able to compete.

In order to help smooth renewable intermittency we will need more robust electricity grids and enhanced storage - pumped hydro is already used in some countries to store excess power and is an obvious way of doing this before other more novel techniques like the methane system come on-line.

Originally Posted by renth (Post 9247035)

US, UK Pull Search Teams Out Of Japan As TEPCO Admits Situation Is "Severe"

"This is a severe incident that is occurring right now," the spokesman said at a news conference. "We have vented and used seawater as cooling, followed the accident management plan but this is a very severe operation." The admission comes as plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) continues attempts to stop the six-reactor Fukushima 1 complex from going into nuclear meltdown. "We have to keep cooling the fuel so it doesn't reach criticality," the Tepco spokesman said, adding that radiation levels have barely fallen at the site." Translation: if operation "Irrigation" fails, TEPCO itself confirms the chance of a critical reaction in the nuclear fuel is very high. Which of course would explain why everyone who knows more than the average peasant who just watches manipulated media, is getting the hell out of dodge."

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/us-...tuation-severe

Originally Posted by Amazulu (Post 9247330)

Just had a look, and that Zero Hedge website you link to is f**king nuts. What is it, 'expert' central and only bad news is good news?

Click ignore

Originally Posted by Rambi (Post 9247318)

I accept (now) that the plant was running. What I find hard to believe is that from 1985-2005 (disaster excluded) they had a perfect safety record. No other deaths in that time.

Originally Posted by Rambi (Post 9247326)

Who says that they're heading back to fossil fuels? Is that pro-nuke hype like the one about American's in Utah taking iodine tablets?

Originally Posted by Turban Explorer (Post 9247340)

As Germany recently announced plans to build 26 new coal plants I was expecting them to use them...

Originally Posted by Rambi (Post 9247318)

I accept (now) that the plant was running. What I find hard to believe is that from 1985-2005 (disaster excluded) they had a perfect safety record. No other deaths in that time.

Originally Posted by renth (Post 9247335)

Zero Hedge is great - ignore at your peril.

Originally Posted by Amazulu (Post 9247350)

Looks like I'm f**ked then!

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 9247346)

I don't have an answer for that, though that link seems to suggest that the major accident was just one of many, less serious, incidents.