BBC – 30 May, 2011
Germany pledges to end all nuclear power by 2022
Germany’s ruling coalition says it has agreed a date of 2022 for the shutdown of all of its nuclear power plants.
Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement after a meeting of the ruling coalition that lasted into the early hours of Monday.
Story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13592208
@Claude Harvey
What’s your point? Fukushima is just an exercise in cleanup now. If we have a 9 magnitude quake and a 50 foot tidal wave in Southern Cali, the the four nuclear reactors there will be the least of our worries (and the Cali plants can survive that). The “big one” everybody has been waiting for in So Cal is a 7.0, or so. Quit being such a bedwetter.
@joel Heinrich
You’re still thriving because we still have access to Chinese money to buy all the stuff you make and export to us (at a significant tax advantage compared to our manufacturers–thank the progressives for that). So, when the Chinese money dries up, your economy will only be able to take you as far as prevailing bedwetter mentality can go.
crosspatch says:
May 31, 2011 at 11:13 am
“Neither the Westinghouse AP line of plants or the GE ESBWR require electricity to move water to dump decay heat. They use convection, evaporation, condensation, and gravity. They don’t use ANY pumps in the emergency cooling system, it is all done by natural forces.”
My statement stands. Neither of those designs have actually been built. China is likely to get the first of the AP designs. Note that the “no pumping” feature lasts for 72 hours, after which the “tank must be refilled” presumably by electrically driven mechanical pumps. It seems to me that little “catch-22” would mean if the AP design worked as advertised, it would have simply delayed, rather that prevented the Japanese calamity.
Claude
There isn’t a single modern plant operating in the US. You’re right the US reactors are not modern. that does not make the statement that modern plants would not have this problem a false one.
If those plants in Japan had been any other type (ther than a newer nuke) would the cleanup be less? The fatality rate lower? I think we all know the answer to both of those questions is no way .
So, 3 of the reactors have been in meltdown since the tsunami… ‘repeating myself’ will maybe get it through some thick skulls?
Doubt it….
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/06/06/japan.nuclear.meltdown/index.html?eref=rss_topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_topstories+%28RSS%3A+Top+Stories%29&utm_content=Google+International