Now imagine humans can't even go within a few hundred meters to clean anything up, and we have no robots that can either.
Also imagine that humans can't live within 500km ever again.
Nuclear is clearly the best option, right up until the point it's the worst possible thing for humans and planet earth, which seems to happen about every 30 years or so. As I said, we've been lucky with it so far.
In other words, on a risk adjusted basis, the data continually shows nuclear is the safest and most economical bet for removing fossil fuels and all their problems from the energy mix. You’d need a a relative fuckton of very very bad accidents where everything went wrong and by all accounts that doesn’t really happen.
Given how little time we have to react, and how long it takes to build a nuclear plant (and how expensive they are), putting our hopes on nuclear this late in the game is foolhardy and will never save us.
We have no choice but to go with what will have a meaningful impact in the immediate future (5 year horizon) - wind, solar, hydro. Many countries are already past 50% renewable, and many are climbing towards 100%.
Oh, and mass production of carbon zeolithes to regenerate the sucked empty agricultural fields, to make them into something like 'terra preta' without having to use too much fertilizer, instead of uselessly sequestrating it somewhere underground.
Terraforming, so to speak. Like the 'atmospheric processors' from Alien II(Aliens).
edit: Instead of thinking all the raw materials for wind,solar&batteries grow on trees, without any externalities, sustainability problems, and no emissions at all. Which is a fucking cargo cult!
Uh huh. And when exactly will they be online and performing all this work for us?
As well as the time and cost to build the nukes, how much time and money will it take to build the machines to suck the carbon out of the air.
I'm all for solutions, but 30+ years isn't going to cut it. 10 years is a huge risk.
Even after a few decades late into the game?
What is so hard to get about the idea that we actually could modulate the greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere, now that we know that and how they influence our living conditions?
It would even make sense to have something like this in case of the next supervolcano eruption. Call it 'weather control done right', if you like.
Retroactive.
Yes, of course that is a great hypothetical option for 30-50 years from now.
We and our children don't have time to wait for that.
Next you're going to tell me if I just wait till fusion works we'll all be saved and can power these "atmospheric processors" with those!
Nope, I won't. Because anything except aneutronic fusion will be much dirtier than the 'nukes' we have now. Which is hypothetical right now, and maybe stays so forever.
Which can't be said about 'nukes', neither the ones we have, nor the ones we could have with a little bit of more investment into materials science. (Liquid salt, etc.)
We and our children won't make it with 'renewables' alone, because they emit at least as much greenhouse gasses, or more when you consider all the externalities going into their production. They are not the solution.
Edit: /me mumbling something like 'Look into fucking GESAMTSTOFFMENGENKREISLAUF'
It’s fair to bring up hypotheticals, but you have to do it for everything you’re comparing!
It’s especially important to include “never happened” scenarios for brand new, or lightly used, methods of energy extraction!
What are the worst case scenarios for windmills? Solar panels?
Imagine a major Soviet-level accident at a rare earth element mine.
Imagine a large supply of rare earth metals are improperly labeled.
It might not be as bad as a major nuclear accident … then again maybe it would be.