Good news for me as a rail enthusiast.... But what's your opinion.
ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES (from BBC)
The Conservatives say they have a vision of a "low-carbon economy", reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, will block plans for a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport and instead develop a high-speed rail line to connect the capital with Heathrow, as well as the cities of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. They also support new nuclear power stations and carbon capture to make coal a "low-carbon" fuel.
Labour want to increase the UK's target of reducing carbon emissions by 34% by 2020, with 40% of electricity coming from "renewables, nuclear and clean fossil fuels" by then. They support Heathrow's third runway, along with high-speed rail linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Manchester, northern England and Scotland.
The Lib Dems want to create a "zero-carbon" Britain by 2050, block new coal-fired power stations, unless accompanied by highest level of carbon capture, and reject new generation of nuclear power. They ban airport expansion in the South East - including at Heathrow - and cut the roads budget to reopen closed railway lines, rather than directly creating a new high-speed line.
Quote from: Maarten Otto on May 09, 2010, 10:54:57 AM
Good news for me as a rail enthusiast.... But what's your opinion.
:o *Sees Maarten Otto kicked out to "RailwaySim"*
Is there such a thing other then TOC game (Which I was involved in development).
I like aviation but I prefer trains.... that's all. And yes... I do work for the railways as well, which allows me staff tickets on the entire European rail network (and that does include High Speed Rail at a fraction of the walk up fare).
Actually... if you go to EHAM/AMS/Schiphol railway station and you hear someone through the PA system warn you to keep your belongings with you at all times in four languages... that'll be me. ;D
Labor is actually more sane. They support Nuclear and a 3rd Runway. LibDems are insane. A windmill in every kitchen
They want nuclear power and they are sane? Seems unlikely to me. (My 2 cents, :-P)
Heathrow 3rd runway is already going ahead no matter what you hear.
The fuel lines are already in place for it and the terminal expansion to the north.
(Source: my uncle installed them there!)
nuclear power is good a and so is a 3rd runway
Quote from: ekaneti on May 09, 2010, 05:47:04 PM
nuclear power is good a and so is a 3rd runway
Agreed with nuclear power. Just look at France - nearly 80% of their fuel is from nuclear power plants. Nuclear just has a bad reputation because of Chernobyl.
Quote from: Maarten Otto on May 09, 2010, 10:54:57 AMThe Conservatives say they have a vision of a "low-carbon economy", reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, will block plans for a third runway at London's Heathrow Airport and instead develop a high-speed rail line to connect the capital with Heathrow, as well as the cities of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. They also support new nuclear power stations and carbon capture to make coal a "low-carbon" fuel.
It's amazing how they want to block expansion at one of the busiest airports in the world, yet they want to BUILD a railway to connect MORE PASSENGERS to one of the busiest airports in the world....... >:(
Quote from: ICEcold on May 09, 2010, 11:46:56 PM
It's amazing how they want to block expansion at one of the busiest airports in the world, yet they want to BUILD a railway to connect MORE PASSENGERS to one of the busiest airports in the world....... >:(
The logic is...stunning...isn't it? ???
Quote from: Daveos on May 09, 2010, 05:49:25 PM
Agreed with nuclear power. Just look at France - nearly 80% of their fuel is from nuclear power plants. Nuclear just has a bad reputation because of Chernobyl.
And how do you plan to get rid of the nuclear waste? What are you telling your (and my!) children when their ground-water is poisoned because someone dumped nuclear waste in some unstable mine or into the ocean or whatever? Chernobyl is not just a bad reputation, it was an example. We had several major failures in nuclear power plants in Germany last year. Fortunatly, nothing serious happened. In at least two of these accidents, all failsafe backups of some critical system failed(!) simultaneously and it was indeed sheer fortune that saved us here.
I am not starting with the possibility of a terrorist attack on a nuclear power plant or the things you can do with some of the products coming out of a nuclear power plant.
I was merely suggesting it's a good viable option that has had proven success in France. We're running out of other suitable options.
I wasn't starting an argument :o
EDIT : Maybe the Chernobyl comment could have been phrased more wisely :)
Quote from: Daveos on May 10, 2010, 07:32:58 PM
I was merely suggesting it's a good viable option that has had proven success in France. We're running out of other suitable options.
I wasn't starting an argument :o
Sorry, then. I was just a little overwhelmed at how easily something as huge and devastating as Chernobyl was dismissed as "bad reputation". I sincerely believe that we do have good and reliable alternatives ready within the next couple decades.
Quote from: mideg on May 10, 2010, 07:23:18 PM
And how do you plan to get rid of the nuclear waste? What are you telling your (and my!) children when their ground-water is poisoned because someone dumped nuclear waste in some unstable mine or into the ocean or whatever?
Easy one:
Q: How do you get rid of nuclear waste...
A: We sell it to Greece, they are bankrupt and would do anything for the money it generates. Problem solved.... ;D
Q: What do you tell your chiltdren...
A: Be happy with it... if we didn't the US and Russians would still be able to destroy the world 40 times.... :'(
Q: What to do if my groundwater is poisoned...
A: Import it from Holland, Sure they would even sell air to you if they could.... ;D
And they lived happy ever after....
Chernoble is a bad example. It almost certainly cant happen in the West. What spooked people on nuclear power was Three Mile Island.
Put the nuclear waste under ground. Nuclear plants are already protected from terrorism even a plane crash. Fact is wind and solar power are not viable alternatives to oil and coal. Environmentalist oppose true viable alternatives. Hydro-electric and Nuclear, probably because the actually work
Quote from: ekaneti on May 10, 2010, 10:17:39 PM
Chernoble is a bad example. It almost certainly cant happen in the West. What spooked people on nuclear power was Three Mile Island.
Put the nuclear waste under ground. Nuclear plants are already protected from terrorism even a plane crash. Fact is wind and solar power are not viable alternatives to oil and coal. Environmentalist oppose true viable alternatives. Hydro-electric and Nuclear, probably because the actually work
Everything you say there is totally true.
Especially about Chernobyl. If you look the RMBT (IIRC) reactors used in those size Soviet era power stations are fairly dangerous. Which is why they are not used any more and nothing like them exists in the West
Quote from: ekaneti on May 10, 2010, 10:17:39 PM
Chernoble is a bad example. It almost certainly cant happen in the West. What spooked people on nuclear power was Three Mile Island.
Put the nuclear waste under ground. Nuclear plants are already protected from terrorism even a plane crash. Fact is wind and solar power are not viable alternatives to oil and coal. Environmentalist oppose true viable alternatives. Hydro-electric and Nuclear, probably because the actually work
"Almost certainly cannot happen" times "very long (like, unlimited) runtime" = "will almost certainly happen". That's the rule of great numbers (not sure if its called this in English).
Tell me where underground. Here in Germany, we haven't found a suitable location yet.
I know for a fact, that not all German nuclear power plants are protected against plane crashes. And how can you protect a plant against terrorism? You can't make absolutly sure that no terrorist can sabotage something critical or steal material to produce Hiroshima #2.
And what about solar power? Have you seen the solar ovens installed in (ironically) France? Solar Power is free, avaiable anywhere in the world and we can use it. You just need mirrors or something like it.
If we would charge the power companies with the costs to get rid of nuclear waste, nuclear power would suddenly cease to be cheap and clean, but happened to be expensive and dirty. But we don't, our governments (=we with tax money) pay for all the waste dumping and storing.
Sorry Mideg but with the stuff used in Nuclear powerplants you will never be able to make an atomic bomb of any kind. Only a dirty bomb with nuclear wast is the maximum you can do. And why do all that difficult things where you can use the stuff from the Russian navy out of their submarines which are stored unprotected.
And if you think those terrorists don't have the stuff already, I think you're naive....
Quote from: Maarten Otto on May 11, 2010, 07:32:31 AM
And if you think those terrorists don't have the stuff already, I think you're naive....
If that'd be true, why didn't we see something like that instead of or after 9/11? And whatever terrorists might already have, I don't want them to have more.
Quote from: mideg on May 11, 2010, 07:51:40 AM
If that'd be true, why didn't we see something like that instead of or after 9/11?
Because I think they wait a while longer before doing such a thing. In 20 years people have mostly forgotten about it, and airport security would be the same as before 9/11. ... The next generation (my children for example) don't know what terrorism is... until their generation will be hit by a massive shake-up.
And yes... nine out of ten it will happen in the USA.
Quote from: Maarten Otto on May 11, 2010, 10:53:55 AM
Because I think they wait a while longer before doing such a thing. In 20 years people have mostly forgotten about it, and airport security would be the same as before 9/11. ... The next generation (my children for example) don't know what terrorism is... until their generation will be hit by a massive shake-up.
And yes... nine out of ten it will happen in the USA.
Well, I hope you are wrong.
Sounds strange... but I hope I'm wrong indeed...