Finland is on the verge of becoming the first nation to bury spent nuclear fuel rods deep underground for the long term. Erika Benke visits the Onkalo site to find out more.
The problem with nuclear energy is that so many people are incredibly uninformed about how it works and what the risks and downsides are when compared to fossil fuels, because there’s really no contest: nuclear energy is by far the safest and least polluting form of “steady state” energy production (compared to eg. solar or wind which can’t produce 24/7) we have right now. Plants tend to be – to use a technical term – expensive as all fuck to build, mainly because they absolutely have to be done right to be safe. It’s still nuclear power and the failure modes are way more… uh… interesting than when you’re just burning rocks or sludge made from dead ancient trees.
The problem with nuclear energy is that so many people are incredibly uninformed about how it works and what the risks and downsides are when compared to fossil fuels, because there’s really no contest: nuclear energy is by far the safest and least polluting form of “steady state” energy production (compared to eg. solar or wind which can’t produce 24/7) we have right now. Plants tend to be – to use a technical term – expensive as all fuck to build, mainly because they absolutely have to be done right to be safe. It’s still nuclear power and the failure modes are way more… uh… interesting than when you’re just burning rocks or sludge made from dead ancient trees.