The Extinction Rebellion

[Nom De Plume]

These protestors are not in touch with reality.

If Australia cuts its coal exports we'll go broke very soon.
We also export high quality coal.
The buyers such as China and India will just source cheap coal which creates more pollution
and that will make the problem worse.

Oh, ffs, What we need to do is go nuclear as we ween ourselves off coal and oil. It is the next major project in our nation building future and, the sooner we realise this, the sooner we are to a sensible solution to the impending economic downturn.

Seems that a few of us are on the same page, so lets look at funding the project. There is the future fund and superannuation. both are easily turned into bonds with sound yield projections. Making it a public asset means controlling the cost of power... and the end of profiteering at our expense. Also, it is such a crucial asset, with dangerous consequences that it should private concerns get entailed, that it should forever remain a govt asset... our asset!

[brian ross]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous. Past experience has shown that the operators of nuclear reactors tend to become inattentive if not outright careless and disasters occur, which release radioactivity and pollute the environment. I simply do not trust private operators, let alone Government ones. Then there are the problems associated with storing and processing nuclear waste. I do not believe it is possible to store waste for over 50,000 years safely.

However, it does answer many of our needs as far as base load power goes. It provides a steady, reliable power source, suitable for industry and large cities. We have ample reserves of Uranium. Our problem is that we are getting into the nuclear fuel cycle relatively late and we have a steep hill to climb. We would need to start with training an adequate work force of nuclear engineers and technicians. We presently lack that and without that, no industry can function. We would need to purchase from overseas the industrial base which would allow us to build our own reactors, processing plant, etc.

What is not well known is that the Australian National University, the Snowy Hydro scheme and of course, Woomera testing range were all part of a British Imperial defence scheme in the late 1940s when they were established. The ANU was to provide the nuclear scientists and engineers, the Snowy Scheme the electrical power for processing and enriching Uranium and Woomera was of course the site where they were to be tested. The UK was to provide the designs for nuclear weapons. However, this all fell through in the end and we ended up with sites which have now found alternative uses.

And this is another part of the problem. A nuclear industry inevitably leads to thoughts of nuclear weapons. The temptation would be there to turn all this massive investment into power generation, into the building of nuclear bombs. Indeed, the two are greatly entwined in the US, Russia, UK, France, Israel, India and Pakistan and the PRC. Is that a road we want to go down?

Personally, I think that nuclear power will come. However, we can still build much more on our use of renewables. We have yet to explore renewables completely and they are now becoming cheaper than fossil fuelled power plants. Solar, Wind, Tidal, Ocean Current, etc. are all available in and around Australia. I think we should be giving them all a go.

[Bobby]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous.

What about Thorium nuclear power?
See the previous page.

[brian ross]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous.

What about Thorium nuclear power?
See the previous page.

Still dangerous for the reasons I have provided, Bobby.

[Bobby]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous.

What about Thorium nuclear power?
See the previous page.

Still dangerous for the reasons I have provided, Bobby.

Thorium doesn't provide U235 or P239 used in atomic bombs.
Thorium reactors can't melt down -
they make only a tiny amount of waste -
It's different.

[brian ross]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous.

What about Thorium nuclear power?
See the previous page.

Still dangerous for the reasons I have provided, Bobby.

Thorium doesn't provide U235 or P239 used in atomic bombs.
Thorium reactors can't melt down -
they make only a tiny amount of waste -
It's different.

You can still have accidents and natural disasters, Bobby.

[Bobby]

I am, I must admit, in two minds about nuclear power. I find it is dangerous.

What about Thorium nuclear power?
See the previous page.

Still dangerous for the reasons I have provided, Bobby.

Thorium doesn't provide U235 or P239 used in atomic bombs.
Thorium reactors can't melt down -
they make only a tiny amount of waste -
It's different.

You can still have accidents and natural disasters, Bobby.

A Thorium reactor is "walk away" safe.
You need to do a little more research.

[Black Orchid]

Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent on overtime for police officers who worked during week-long climate change protests in Melbourne

Victoria Police Commander Tim Hansen said on Sunday the force was still totalling the cost of the Extinction Rebellion protests in the city, but overtime was already high.

"The overtime budget is in the hundreds of thousands already... 16,000 patrol hours have been deployed," he told reporters on Sunday, adding that 111 people had been arrested.

"It has had a huge impact on our resourcing out in the regions and out in the suburbs."

Commander Hansen slammed the organisers for keeping police in the dark about their movements during the "spring rebellion", which meant officers had to be taken off other duties.

The commander ruled out making the protesters pay for the costs incurred during their activities, as that would only be applicable if there is a "level of commerciality".

https://7news.com.au/news/climate-chang ... t-c-501413

[brian ross]

Democracy obviously costs, Black Orchid. Tell me, do you think the ER protesters are, "pack-raping democracy" like Billy Snedden declared the Moratorium marchers were doing when they protested against the Vietnam War?

[Black Orchid]

Seriously who is going to take any notice of this other than to gawk and shake your head?