Nuclear Power in Germany

[You kip if you want to...]

If you're against climate change and nuclear power, you're a hypocrite.

[Middle-aged Europe]

If you're against climate change and nuclear power, you're a hypocrite.

Even if we assume that the two things couldn't get rid off at the same time it hardly makes you a hyprocrite. If anything, it makes you someone who's pursuing unrealistic goals.

[Hans-im-Glück]

Nuclear Energy is a dangerous technology from the past.

I know that we can't turn off the nuclear power plants immediately, but to say there is no alternative is more than stupid. There are 1000 ways to produce electricity and 1000 ways to save energy. We need only to support this and do not focus on an old and dangerous technology.

The "specialists" said a big Nuclear Meltdown is only one in 100000 years. I'm 43 years old and in my life there was 3 Mile Island, Chernobyl, and now Japan.

[You kip if you want to...]

There are 1000 ways to produce electricity and 1000 ways to save energy.

Efficiency is an issue.

[Franzl]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

Why? The Greens do in fact oppose all energy forms except for renewable ones. Then again, so does the CDU, actually. They just want to shut the nuclear power plants down at a later date than the Greens. Nowadays, it isn't so much a matter of if, but when.

[Hans-im-Glück]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

Want you to live in a contaminated environment? These are the consequences of a nuclear accident. Be happy that you live near Darmstadt and not in Prypiat (Ukraine)

[Franzl]

But it hasn't always been that way...and I think we both know that nuclear is demonized a good deal more by the Green folks than dirty CO2 producing energy sources.

[Franzl]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

Want you to live in a contaminated environment? These are the consequences of a nuclear accident. Be happy that you live near Darmstadt and not in Prypiat (Ukraine)

Again, it's an issue of probabilities. Correctly run nuclear power plants are not very dangerous. Especially in an area with virtually no natural disasters.

[Middle-aged Europe]

But it hasn't always been that way...and I think we both know that nuclear is demonized a good deal more by the Green folks than dirty CO2 producing energy sources.

Because it generates *gasp* more votes at the polls? Same reason why Seehofer made his "until the last bullet" remark on immigration recently.

You'll have a hard time finding a political party which deliberately avoids a strategy despite its obvious advantages.

[Hans-im-Glück]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

Want you to live in a contaminated environment? These are the consequences of a nuclear accident. Be happy that you live near Darmstadt and not in Prypiat (Ukraine)

Again, it's an issue of probabilities. Correctly run nuclear power plants are not very dangerous. Especially in an area with virtually no natural disasters.

Most accidents are caused by human error, not natural disasters. People make mistakes, but nuclear power plants don't allow it.

In Japan the NPP were build for a earthquake with a magnitude of 8. The quake had 9. This was a human error too.

[GMantis]

Why are only nuclear accidents relevant? Other energy types have proven a lot more dangerous than nuclear over time....but I suppose that doesn't fit the propaganda from the Greens' crusade.

Want you to live in a contaminated environment? These are the consequences of a nuclear accident. Be happy that you live near Darmstadt and not in Prypiat (Ukraine)

Again, it's an issue of probabilities. Correctly run nuclear power plants are not very dangerous. Especially in an area with virtually no natural disasters.

Most accidents are caused by human error, not natural disasters. People make mistakes, but nuclear power plants don't allow it.

In Japan the NPP were build for a earthquake with a magnitude of 8. The quake had 9. This was a human error too.

The Chernobyl accident wasn't caused by human error but by deliberate misuse of the reactor.  As for Japan, it seems it was the tsunami, not the earthquake which was responsible. What is the chance of a tsunami or such a strong earthquake affecting Germany? Or for that matter dangerous experiments being carried out there?

[Associate Justice PiT]

There are 1000 ways to produce electricity and 1000 ways to save energy.

Efficiency is an issue.

     Which is the issue with the anti-nuclear folks. They seem to neglect that there's only a small handful of ways to produce electricity in the amounts needed to sustain society as we know it. Unless we are going to undertake programs to greatly curb electricity usage, or else give everything we've got to developing nuclear fusion as a viable source of energy, we are stuck with nuclear fission for the time being.

[John Dibble]

If you're against climate change and nuclear power, you're a hypocrite.

No, you could just be ignorant, which I would wager is the much more common case.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Two weeks before the Baden-Württemberg state election, some impressive example of ass-covering can be witnessed by the CDU. CDU politicians trying to outbid eachover which nuclear power plants should be shut down ASAP. Some might even be shut down prior to election day! CDU being in full reverse (including auxiliary thrusters ) on the issue.

We'll see if it actually manages to prevent the election of the first Green state PM on March 27. Flip-flopping could also backfire.

[minionofmidas]

The Laufzeitverlängerung is fairly likely to be shot down by the Supreme Court anyways.

Everybody knows that the older plants like Biblis A and Neckarwestheim are expendable, and that RWE and (uh, whoever owns Neckarwestheim) used every trick in the book to keep them running until the law change "only" because it meant millions of free money - we would probably have seen their brandnew extra Reststrommengen, or at least a large part thereof, transferred away as soon as appeared semi-decent after all was dried & dusted, if the SC case is won.
Why give away millions of free taxpayer money to greedy dog clients who can never have enough if looks like it might cost votes - especially if the base policy behind it was never popular and you yourself are maybe less than entirely happy about it? Röttgen certainly would always have preferred not to extend those two's official life in the first place. (Isar I is almost as old, but has never been in the news much.)

[Middle-aged Europe]

Support for exiting nuclear power in Germany has surged from 62% to 71% according to a poll I just saw on TV. We'll see if it is a short-term effect that will subside again over time.

[Franzl]

Even if it doesn't sway undecided voters, I'm worried that turnout among the Green base will be depressingly high.

[Tender Branson]

Even if it doesn't sway undecided voters, I'm worried that turnout among the Green base will be depressingly high.

But as we have seen recently in Hamburg and the German polls, support for the Greens is overestimated by a lot before the election.

The situation now will only lead to a lesser overestimation for the Greens. I still doubt they will get 20% in BW. Anything else would be a big surprise.

[Tender Branson]

Support for exiting nuclear power in Germany has surged from 62% to 71% according to a poll I just saw on TV. We'll see if it is a short-term effect that will subside again over time.

Here`s the complete poll:

"Should the oldest 7 nuclear reactors in Germany be immediately deactivated ?"

"Should all nuclear reactors in Germany be immediately deactivated ?"



"Do you favor Germany's exit from Nuclear Energy ?"



"Do you favor the imposed moratorium on nuclear reactors to check their security ?"



"Are you scared that the nuclear accident in Japan will lead to radioactive contamination of air, water and food in Germany ?"



"Do you think a nuclear accident like in Japan can also happen in Germany ?"

[Middle-aged Europe]

Even if it doesn't sway undecided voters, I'm worried that turnout among the Green base will be depressingly high.

But as we have seen recently in Hamburg and the German polls, support for the Greens is overestimated by a lot before the election.

The situation now will only lead to a lesser overestimation for the Greens. I still doubt they will get 20% in BW. Anything else would be a big surprise.

Could be the case, could be not.

In the last Baden-Württemberg state election, the Greens were polled at 10% shortly before election day and ended up at 11.7%.

[minionofmidas]

See? Only 39% of the population are complete idiots. Doing pretty good, then. (And I bet quite a lot of them are taking a line similar to jmf's. A crosstab between that one and one of the exit yes/no questions would be welcome.)

[Middle-aged Europe]

See? Only 39% of the population are complete idiots. Doing pretty good, then. (And I bet quite a lot of them are taking a line similar to jmf's. A crosstab between that one and one of the exit yes/no questions would be welcome.)

Does this mean that you haven't bought some iodine so far?

[Gustaf]

It's strange how German opinion is so vehemently anti-nuclear. In Sweden there is a very solid majority in favour of retaining it.

[GMantis]

It's strange how German opinion is so vehemently anti-nuclear. In Sweden there is a very solid majority in favour of retaining it.

Your country produces a significant proportion of electrical power with nuclear reactors. That might be a factor.