Nuclear Power? CANDU!
post by Sean Aubin (sean-aubin) · 2024-12-31T20:32:37.445Z · ? · GW · 1 commentsContents
Suggested Readings Suggested Videos Simple Visual Overviews Location Detailed Directions to the Food Court None 1 comment
Our previous meetup Going Nuclear [? · GW] was interesting, but needed a local expert to help navigate the territory. Meetup regular Alex has amazingly arranged for Matthew Mairinger from NAYGN: North American Young Generation in Nuclear and Ontario Power Generation to come chat with us.
Suggested Readings
None of this is required, but can help provide some useful context for discussion:
- A Short History of Candu (34 page pdf; from 1993, revised 2002)
- Doing Candu new (8-10 minute read; 2024)
- Yes CANDU! 5 great reasons to love the CANDU reactor
Suggested Videos
Also, not required, but useful context:
- Why I changed my mind about nuclear power (20 minutes); Michael Shellenberger
- The Ultimate Candu Reactor Guide (22 minutes)
Simple Visual Overviews
Location
Enter the Mars Atrium via University Avenue entrance. We'll meet at the food court in the basement. I'll be wearing a bright neon yellow jacket.
Detailed Directions to the Food Court
Enter from University Avenue and walk east until you see escalators. Take the escalators down. The food court is to the east of the escalators. If you are lost/confused, ask a security guard to direct you to the food court.
1 comments
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comment by Sean Aubin (sean-aubin) · 2025-01-19T16:12:38.609Z · ? · GW
Excited to see everyone today. Re-reading through the links, I think they might be a bit too pro-nuclear. I'm going to recommend a reading from the last meetup, Safe Enough which argues we're thinking about nuclear risks incorrectly. A key excerpt:
Still. The advocates who intone solemnly on the importance of analyzing nuclear energy in terms of dispassionate numbers, as above, use the wrong models. To estimate the potential impact of cascades, we cannot simply average what has been. Our models have to consider the total damage possible - the number of rice grains in our pile, the energy of the atoms in our nuclear fuel.
[...]
To take Probabilistic Risk Assessment seriously requires that we think beyond intuition and experience, and place our faith in an intricate web of calculations and simulations. That we celebrate meticulousness over freedom and invention. That we recognize that while our vigilance will protect us from some catastrophes, it will never shield us entirely.
I'm confused about what a worst-case for nuclear power looks like, because I don't understand what it would mean to direct the maximum amount of radiation from a nuclear power plant to the most populous areas. The talk from Michael Shellenberger made it seem like living near Chernobyl isn't that bad? Looking forward to discussing!