News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much Toxic Waste?. Parent comment

Re:If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much... by sjwright on Monday December 24, 2018 @07:39PM (#18755107)
Nuclear disasters are almost exclusively the result of astonishing human incompetence which is almost unheard of in any comparable industry. Airlines have shown that it is possible to manage big risks.

(Before you say Fukushima, remember the carnage and death was caused by an insanely catastrophic tsunami. Despite massive incompetence and disastrous consequences, it has resulted in a grand total of 1 death so far, with perhaps a few dozen over the lifetime of all people in the area. Not nothing, but it shows just how safe this stuff is when you extricate paranoia from the equation.)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much... by spiritcat on Monday December 24, 2018 @10:32PM (#18755729)
I was thinking more along the lines of, solar flare coinciding with massive earthquake causes multiple simultaneous Chernobyl's type thing.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much... by sjwright on Tuesday December 25, 2018 @03:17AM (#18756549)
In that scenario I’d be more worried about the earthquake. Orders of magnitude more deadly.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much... by spiritcat on Tuesday December 25, 2018 @06:37AM (#18757040)
I dunno, stack exchange says it could be an all life on earth's surface type thing.

https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/questions/65198/what...

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:If Solar Panels Are So Clean, Why Do They Produce So Much... by sjwright on Tuesday December 25, 2018 @05:14PM (#18759408)
Yes, if you start with this hilariously implausible premise and cherry-pick the conclusion that suits your narrative. In reality the major disruption to electricity markets would be far more consequential to >99% of humans on this planet.

Choice quotes:

"Short answer not much would happen. There just is not enough of them and even in the worst case breakdown they don't release that much radiation."

"Even if every single reactor in the US 'failed' today, I doubt there would be significant radiation leakage ... without a 40 foot tsunami, I think this is more like Three Mile Island."

"The problem is that there is a great deal of exaggeration in the public's idea of radiation - the "Omigawd, it's radioactive! We're all gonna DIE!" effect."

[ Parent | on HN ]