Public Address | Cafe | Hard News: Friday funnies, mostly

Lyndon Hood

Mon, 10 Sept 2007 13:52:22 +1200

And I meant the one *without* the lizard!

Yeah, that is kind of alarming.

It really is just the way it came out.

Russell Brown

Sun, 09 Sept 2007 17:41:13 +1200

I'm not saying Chinas development and environmental impact is no concern ....

And I actually think it's clear enough that the Chinese government knows it has an issue. If it was directing official effort into political and media freedcom to the degree it is into environmental problems it's be, um,…

Max Call

Sun, 09 Sept 2007 17:27:47 +1200

Meh... I'm not convinced Australia and the US even really give that much of a shit about our 'iconic' nuclear weapons policy. I just have to wonder if among all the hot air around 'climate change', anyone is going to be raising the subject with Hu Jintao? Or is China's…

Keith Ng

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 19:16:34 +1200

And I meant the one *without* the lizard!

Keith Ng

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 19:15:35 +1200

Mr Hood, is there a third frame in the Clark-Clark morph, or is that terrifyingly sinister look in the middle just a natural midway point of her transformation, one that is usually invisible to the naked eye?

Paul Campbell

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 17:50:41 +1200

It may be blowing in the wind – but it only does when the wind actually blows – and any energy solution needs to be able to meet peak power demand ...

Hydro and wind are a great pairing, theoretically when the wind blows you let the dams fill and…

Michael Fitzgerald

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 15:05:46 +1200

Dylan
I don't have the specifics with me, but from wind alone NZ has 4 times its current power consumption level in wind resources. The practicalities of capturing this resource means we will only use a fraction, but you're right "the answer my friends is blowing in the wind, the…

Jason Kemp

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 11:32:22 +1200

I think the US is still hoping to get some access to Oil from Iraq. The strategis value is worth trillions.

I did see something that suggested they screwed up the invasion so that they have to stay for 50 years or more. They can't rely on Saudi Arabia and…

Jason Kemp

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 11:26:38 +1200

This PDF printable chart on energy flows in NZ based on 2005 use is a good summary of the overall energy situation in New Zealand.

It is an overal energy use chart and shows all the sources and end uses in PetaJoules (PJ) It also shows 178 PJ…

Tom Semmens

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 11:05:45 +1200

"...Nuclear energy won't become publicly acceptable until nuclear fusion becomes viable, and that's a long way off. Fusion solves most of the issues with current fission-based plants, especially nuke waste..."

U.S. Spening on fusion research in 2007: about 320 million. Cost of Iraq war so far? Around half a trillion,…

dylan

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 04:16:54 +1200

one more thing, there were two things that bugged me in the Australian Uranium Council's "Nuclear Energy Prospects in New Zealand"...largely because of its slopiness (well it is Australian!)

The comment that NZ is "having to retreat from using gas extravagantly for power generation". While it is true that we…

dylan

Sat, 08 Sept 2007 03:57:07 +1200

From a European point of view, nuclear generated electricity is more attractive (for Europe) because there is:
1) An over reliance on Russia and North Africa for gas (together they control more than 40% of Europe's gas supply)
2) Limited hydro and other renewable sources
3) Strong social concerns over…

Stephen Judd

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 22:19:20 +1200

The chair of the NZ Electricity Commission on nuclear power in NZ

Precis: NZ is too small. One nuclear plant with current technology would be such a big chunk of total generation capacity that it could never be taken offline. And because they product constant output, which has to be…

Kumara Republic

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 19:36:16 +1200

Nuclear energy won't become publicly acceptable until nuclear fusion becomes viable, and that's a long way off. Fusion solves most of the issues with current fission-based plants, especially nuke waste. The catch? Nuclear fusion only happens at 10^8 degrees Celsius, and not even tungsten will handle that sort of temperature.…

Nat Torkington

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 19:09:19 +1200

Turns out The Economist had a bit to say about nuclear power. Some relevant chunks from Nuclear Dawn are relevant. On uranium availability:

Nuclear has worked well in France in part because it is accepted by politicians and the public alike, so there are few delays due to protests or…

Michael Fitzgerald

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 17:49:22 +1200

Sorry Off Topic, but while we're entertaining ideas like "Environmentally Friendly Nuclear Power" & other strange things.

This dude had 113 pistols stolen from his house. 6 submachine guns & 2 military style rifles.

I can understand collectors, I've got 5 bicycles & can only ride one at a time.

But surely there…

Jackie Clark

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 16:49:25 +1200

I have always been a huge No Nukes person, stemming back to my sister being a large part of the movement (rubber boats in the harbour with placards etc in the 70's sort of thing – and plus which we're a protesting sort of family), but I did wonder about…

Nat Torkington

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 16:01:39 +1200

Related to nuclear power: this story in the Economist.

andin

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 15:47:04 +1200

(2) Earthquakes, risk, and risk. NZ and Japan have somewhat similar seismic profiles, even though their population leaves my Japanese friends wondering how we all stay sane in such a lonely place. Anyhow, everyone remember the quakes early this year in Japan?

I always thought this might be a major…

Tony Sutorius

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 15:19:37 +1200

> ...a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, Microsoft Office
> Professional 2007 and OneCare.

... and second prize is a shipping-container-load of Windows Vista Ultimate, a multinational site-licence for Microsoft Office Professional 2007, and an intimate dinner with Steve Ballmer....

Andrew Stevenson

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 14:38:07 +1200

Also worth looking at is British Energy link, a nuclear power generator in the UK that was set up to compete with other energy suppliers – they couldn't and had to get a government bailout.
Anyone for more experimentation with the NZ energy market?

Michael Fitzgerald

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 14:31:36 +1200

Andrew
Too right.

(3) NIMBY. NZers have major fits over WINDMILLs, for crying out loud. Imagine the public horror at having a reactor next door!

Southland & White Hills being the exception to the rule – these guys loved it & have had 2 fairs dedicated to it. I don't know of…

Lyndon Hood

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 13:44:49 +1200

And conspiracy alert, is there a link between securing the Aboriginal areas and high quality uranium extraction from those areas?

Well, I hazily recall that attempts to just grab the uranium directly had mixed results...

Lyndon Hood has excelled himself

Ooh, ta.

I can recommend WinMorph to any PC users who…

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 13:40:12 +1200

Garth has moved to Rotorua has promises to resume transmission soon.

Jimmy Hayes

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 13:35:36 +1200

If anyone wanted a direct link to Roy Hemmingway (has it already been posted? No time for a close read), here you go.

Mr. Hemmingway

I just don't understand why we're even having this conversation.

I'm very left socially, centrist for domestic economics, and reasonably to the right in international…

BenWilson

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:58:18 +1200

Maybe the nuke power supporters could all band together, form a town, and have the generator there? That is, if they're comfortable with that....

Reminds me of a possibly apocryphal story: The software developers of a control system for a plant in the US all left town just before the…

3410

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:57:02 +1200

China has 4 new Nuclear power plants in progress at the moment. The 3,610 MW capacity they are expected to generate is actually a good thing compared to if those plants were coal fired.

Until there's an accident (which would, I presume, be known as "The Pennsylvania Syndrome".)

merc

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:52:46 +1200

I suspect Oz has leverage for now with America because they got the most uranium and America don't want to see it all going to...China?
Or, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10462223
And conspiracy alert, is there a link between securing the Aboriginal areas and high quality uranium extraction from those areas?

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:51:18 +1200

Maybe the nuke power supporters could all band together, form a town, and have the generator there? That is, if they're comfortable with that....

Some people are

I think perhaps the The New Zealand Atomic Energy Advocacy Council NZAEC
might want to have one in Napier ?

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:46:20 +1200

Roy Hemmingways reasons have already been linked to indirectly via the Greens by Russell. To recap he had 4 which are very similar

The first problem is size. (NZ total needs 4500MW – typical Nuclear plant is 1200)
Secondly, a nuclear plant runs flat out, it does not follow load…

Andrew Johnson

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:39:43 +1200

My wife is an electrical engineer who works in Electricity Generation planning for Large Power in Nz. She's also completing a PhD in the topic right now.

She laughs at nuclear power in NZ, then gets stuck in to the uninformed who suggest it.

3 major things:
(1) Cost. Hugely…

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:38:13 +1200

And uranium

presume you mean supplies of the raw materials running down

"The analysis of data on uranium resources leads to the assessment that discovered reserves are not sufficient to guarantee the uranium supply for more than thirty years".

Need is to discover some more / whihc is unlikely.

merc

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:32:06 +1200

And uranium.

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:27:20 +1200

BTW -re comments on China

China has 4 new Nuclear power plants in progress at the moment. The 3,610 MW capacity they are expected to generate is actually a good thing compared to if those plants were coal fired.

Lingao 3, Lingao 4, Qinshan 2-3, and Tianwan-2

China's record on…

Julian Melville

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:13:36 +1200

Cheers for the Kraftwerk links! That's made my Friday.

Tony Judd

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 12:02:10 +1200

Nice quick summary from The Island of Doubt (on ScienceBlogs.com) of why the author doesn't think that nuclear power is a panacea for climate change:
http://scienceblogs.com/islandofdoubt/2007/08/what_have_you_got_against_nucl.php

InternationalObserver

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:54:01 +1200

The reporting yesterday, in both print and TV media, was frankly pathetic.

But in all fairness, they do an excellent job the other 364 days of the year. Maybe they ate the shrimp the night before?

BenWilson

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:48:34 +1200

I'm not convinced Australia and the US even really give that much of a shit about our 'iconic' nuclear weapons policy.

I'm sure they don't, much in the same way that we don't give much of a shit about many of their internal affairs. But we do have an opinion…

dc_red

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:48:24 +1200

Thanks for the observations about the media's angle on this.

The reporting yesterday, in both print and TV media, was frankly pathetic.

I was given the distinct impression they were looking for another stick to beat Labour over the head with (or at least to retrieve a couple of old…

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:42:21 +1200

For those who are in a hurry – here is the conclusion of US study called
Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free
A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy

Central Finding
The overarching finding of this study is that a zero-CO2 U.S. economy can be achieved within the next thirty to fifty years without…

Jason Kemp

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:37:34 +1200

There are a whole series of reasons why nuclear – doesn't make sense for NZ. Sometime this month or October the final version of NZ Energy Strategy will be released – that gives a full range of option – nuclear is at the bottom of the list.

Where there are…

Andrew Smith

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:33:15 +1200

Yeah Craig, the 'Nuclear Power alternative' statements from George Bush are probably just a broadside at the Chinese who are building coal-powered stations every other day. The US certainly wasn;t thinking about NZ. But we do need debate on how we progress in our power generation neeeds. The Green's and…

Paul Campbell

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:32:09 +1200

and worth $2500 if you don't include the copy of Vista ....

Sue

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:28:37 +1200

i do hope colin the kitten will be supervising said draw
an official adjudicator with claws is always an asset to any write in complaints ;)

Craig Ranapia

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:24:49 +1200

I think for Oz and the US they're really driving at the no nuke weapons policy and see nuclear power as a wedge they could drive in here. But as you say, I bet they don't really give it much thought most of the time, and plugging nuclear is really…

InternationalObserver

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:18:39 +1200

I'm not opposed to Nuclear Power per se. But why not make it a condition that the countries that sell the uranium have to take back the nuclear waste? That might solve part of the problem.

The Aussies could build a new Ayers Rock ....

BenWilson

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:08:40 +1200

I can't think why anyone outside of NZ gives a stuff whether we use Hydro or Nuclear as our low-carbon-emissions alternative. I think for Oz and the US they're really driving at the no nuke weapons policy and see nuclear power as a wedge they could drive in here. But…

Public Address

Fri, 07 Sept 2007 11:08:40 +1200

Discussion from blog post.