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Why has the world started to mine coal again? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by Metal_Zealot@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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With climate change looming, it seems so completely backwards to go back to using it again.

Is it coal miners pushing to keep their jobs? Fear of nuclear power? Is purely politically motivated, or are there genuinely people who believe coal is clean?

Edit, I will admit I was ignorant to the usage of coal nowadays.

Now I'm more depressed than when I posted this

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[-] AnAngryAlpaca@feddit.de 18 points 1 year ago

It takes 20 years to build
nobody knows how much nuclear fuel will cost in 20 years
you have to take out a big loan and make interest payments on it for maybe 30 years before you start making a profit
if you don't have enough water for cooling because of climate change, the plant must shut down
if your neighbor decides to start a war against you, your nuclear plants become a liability, see Ukraine.

I think smaller, decentralized renewable energy is cheaper in the short and long run and has a much lower risk in case of accidents, natural Desasters or attacks.

[-] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone -2 points 1 year ago

SMR (small modular reactors) are looking like they could become the next hip thing in nuclear power tech.

Basically a lot lower initial investment and offer a lot more flexibility.

Linky link

The link has a lot of info on them

[-] hoshikarakitaridia@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

I really don't see that as a good progression. We want to focus on renewables because that's the most sustainable way to go. Why go back to nuclear again?

That said if you are saying that's where the industry is moving even though that's probably not the best approach, fair enough. My opinion has zero effect on the industry.

this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2023

325 points (93.3% liked)

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