Monday, March 5, 2012

Peak Oil and the Coming Nuclear Catastrophe

(Three Mile Island.  Public domain from http://phil.cdc.gov )
Readers of this blog know that I believe in the Peak Oil theory. If you already know about it, just skip to the next paragraph. Wikipedia says that "Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline." I believe this will trigger a worldwide depression and economic collapse. Heavily populated areas will experience sudden and drastic depopulation. It could even threaten the very existence of geographically large nations.

So, if the worst happens, and everything grinds to a halt, what will happen when the money stops rolling in to the power companies running nuclear plants? Are the technicians going to just keep on working without any money or food? Who is going to keep the spent fuel cooling pools full of water? Or the reactors? What happens if they dry up? I know what happens when they dry up. All hell breaks loose.

I am just worried sick about who will make sure they shut down safely. Frankly, I don't think they will all be shut down correctly. And I don't think the waste will be stored correctly. Hundreds of reactors melting down and venting. Hundreds of spent fuel cooling pools drying up, the fuel rods exposed. So basically, the world is eventually going to become highly contaminated by Cesium 137. So it won't matter if you live in a remote off grid retreat. You will still be breathing the dust with the rest of us.

God, I hope I am wrong.
Posted by Eric at 12:59 AM
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4 comments:

  1. tubaplayerMarch 5, 2012 at 6:25 AM

    I so agree Eric - Pandora's Box!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan R-MMarch 11, 2012 at 10:53 PM

    Nukes and GMO's. I put them in the same boat, though nuclear energy/weapons are definitely scarier and more anti-biotic, in the complete sense.

    ReplyDelete
  3. EricMarch 12, 2012 at 6:37 AM

    I had this post saved as a draft for almost 10 months. I didn't want to sound like a doomer or end-of-days wailer.

    But then I thought- even a lot of Peak Oil believers haven't thought this aspect through. So here I am, wailing doom and preaching to the converted.

    ReplyDelete
  4. sdeblieckMarch 14, 2012 at 1:23 AM

    Hey Eric, I think you might like this new radio program on public radio: http://burnanenergyjournal.com/
    last night they had their first show with some interesting perspective on Fukushima.

    ReplyDelete

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