Anonymous #2 19h

You think converting the entirety of Yellowstone into geothermal power and then trying to export that around the entire national electric grid (instead of just the immediate area) wouldn’t be expensive and slow?

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Anonymous #3 18h

Why do you think I want to convert Yellowstone to geothermal? lol

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Anonymous #2 18h

Because that’s what the post was about.

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Anonymous #3 18h

Nuclear and destroying Yellowstone are not the only two options

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Anonymous #2 18h

I think we should prioritize both nuclear and renewables, but they all have downsides. Hydropower massively fucks over native fish populations. Solar isn’t practical in every area. Wind can be inefficient. We should be investing in all these strategies, but I think nuclear is the most versatile and long-term source.

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Anonymous #3 18h

For hydropower, most dams exist primarily for water storage or flood control and could be retrofitted to produce electricity without needing to build more dams The only place I can think of that wouldn’t work for solar is like Alaska Idk what you mean when you say wind is inefficient Meanwhile, we still don’t know what to do with nuclear waste long term. I’m all for keeping our current plants running as long as possible, but it’s just not necessary or optimal to invest in over renewables

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Anonymous #3 18h

I’d argue that, while nuclear is one of our best options, it’s not very versatile. One of the big disadvantages of a nuclear plant is that it can only run at one power level and isn’t easily able to adjust to meet grid load needs. This is because it takes months to redesign core setups and even longer to actually rearrange fuel rods. That’s why nuclear in its current form is really good for large demand but not more local/small scale needs.

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Anonymous #4 18h

I actually was not aware of this

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Anonymous #2 18h

While nuclear waste is a problem, it’s not particularly pressing. Over the last 70-80 years of operation, US nuclear plants have only produced enough waste to fill a football field. If we were to scale up nuclear power, waste gains would be minimal especially compared to similar growth in gas or coal sectors. Current storage methods are more than adequate, with breeder reactors also reducing long term waste. Overall, it’s an issue but isn’t big enough to justify preventing nuclear growth.

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