Fussin' and Fission

The Gorse Fox, as he has explained before, always enjoys catching up on podcasts during his journey. Always worth a listen is "Skeptoid", and this week GF caught up on a broadcast called "The Terror of Nuclear Power".
He recommends that you read the transcript (linked, above) or listen to the podcast. It is an excellent exposition of the realities of the nuclear industry, it discusses:

• the 4 generations of nuclear power plant design (Chernobyl was G1, Three Mile Island G2): "The newest plants being designed for commercial use are called Generation III+, which incorporate all the newest knowledge from operating Generation III designs. If a new reactor was approved and built in the United States today, it would be a Generation III+ design. Even if every plant employee keeled over with a heart attack, neither a Chernobyl nor a Three Mile Island type accident would be possible; the systems are fundamentally redesigned so that the reaction cannot be sustained if things go outside the parameters."
• the realities of "safety" and the fact that you would need a power plant catastophe every 3 week to be equivalent to the number of people killed by the particulates from coal power stations each year. "If the world was filled with Generation I reactors run by feuding coal miners, we would need a worst-case scenario every three weeks just to match the US death toll we've imposed upon ourselves by clinging to our current fossil fuel system. Next time you see a hippie cheering the defeat of nuclear power in the US, realize that a healthy environment and saving lives are clearly not their priorities."
• the realities of "waste" and the the fact that G4 designs virtually eliminate waste (there is talk that G5 may consume waste from earlier designs - not discussed in the write-up, but mentioned in the subsequent comments)

An excellent read/listen - as on commenter put it the "problem is caused by the fact that people are idiots. Which is (IMHO) why dumb people shouldn't be allowed to vote."