PM Lee says S'pore must study nuclear option
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WeiHan:
I don't know which is worse;
It highlighted how serious and pressing the energy problem is, I don't mean just Singapore but worldwide.markfch:
To support nuclear power so soon after Fukushima, well, I don't know what to say? :roll:
1. nuclear contamination - Chernobyl/Fukushima/nuclear warheads?
2. global warming/climate change - Ozone depletion/Greenhouse gases
3. ourselves - air conditioning/cars/airplanes/etc...
where are we heading towards? -
so is this going to benefit the citizens or GDP profit??
cost vs danger?
i dont think electrical bill going to get any cheaper -
dunnoleh:
I don't know which is worse;
It highlighted how serious and pressing the energy problem is, I don't mean just Singapore but worldwide.WeiHan:
[quote=\"markfch\"]
To support nuclear power so soon after Fukushima, well, I don't know what to say? :roll:
1. nuclear contamination - Chernobyl/Fukushima/nuclear warheads?
2. global warming/climate change - Ozone depletion/Greenhouse gases
3. ourselves - air conditioning/cars/airplanes/etc...
where are we heading towards?[/quote]1. In fact, we are running short of uranium ores and the price is rising. All the previous soviet war heads uranium were being disarmanented and stored and gradually released for energy generation usage. Our present shortage is partly off-set by this supply from previous soviet's warhead. The nuclear conatmination can actually be contained using better design. All recent accidents are due to out-dated design. Our strategy can be one of delaying as much as possible to see how people test out the newer design.
2. In some way, global warming etc can cause flooding and natural disasters that arguably cause more lives lost than minor nuclear leak.
3. Using science to make lives better is nothing wrong. Don't have to be superstitious and fear nature. -
raysusan:
true, it costs billions to build a reactor and we got to pay for it :mad:so is this going to benefit the citizens or GDP profit??
cost vs danger?
i dont think electrical bill going to get any cheaper -
pinky:
Nuclear power or not, the electrical bills are going to go up and up.
true, it costs billions to build a reactor and we got to pay for it :mad:raysusan:
so is this going to benefit the citizens or GDP profit??
cost vs danger?
i dont think electrical bill going to get any cheaper
but not just in singapore.
Without nuclear power, with greater demand and fast depleting fuels - only two things can happen - power shortage or very high cost.
We have to think the long term.
Am i comfortable with a nuclear power plant in my back yard - NO
But would I be happy with power outages or paying thru my nose for electricity? -- NO
Life has trade offs, i would rather have the nuclear power plant ... -
Actually it’ll be interesting to convert this thread into a poll.
That will give a rough estimate on how some parents here stand on this contentious issue. -
I’m not comfortable with nuclear power. Are they looking into other alternatives like solar power? Don’t have much knowledge about this ‘power’ thing but have seen some countries starting to adopt more solar power.
And I think in some countries, they have planned daily blackout periods to conserve energy. So power will still run for the places where it is necessary, eg hospitals, but for residences, etc, all power will be out. So the super rich will have their own generator and for some they turn to solar power during these periods.
The thing is, when govt say must study that option, it usually means gonna happen just a matter of when and where. -
How about light off for office building after 530pm everyday to save electricity? Then we can no need to OT.
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http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/malaysia-says-to-go-ahead-with-nuclear-plans/
\"PUTRAJAYA, March 15 — Malaysia is taking note of the Japan nuclear crisis when implementing its plan to build two nuclear power plants in the future, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today....\"
Perhaps this is the reason why SG must study it... cos' our neighbour is going to built it?
Hope we don't start a nuclear race in Asean....
:xedfingers: -
I really hope they take feedback unlike the casino issue.
Personally, I think we are going into a syndrome of \"advancement\" at a non-stop pace. In fact, returning to Stone-age is also an option we should seriously study to save our Earth. This, is also an advancement, towards preserving the Earth.
Play with fire, we get burnt....Haven't our ancestors told us this repeatedly? -
ksi:
That is why there is all this talk about end of the world! The way humans are treating the earth: causing global warming which causes all the drastic climate changes and disasters, and now building nuclear plants to satisfy the never-ending energy needs due to the so-called modernisation. Every nation wants to race ahead of the other, without consideration of the damage to our future generations.I really hope they take feedback unlike the casino issue.
Personally, I think we are going into a syndrome of \"advancement\" at a non-stop pace. In fact, returning to Stone-age is also an option we should seriously study to save our Earth. This, is also an advancement, towards preserving the Earth.
Play with fire, we get burnt....Haven't our ancestors told us this repeatedly?
With all these scenarios, we are just building more and more time-bombs. End of the world is like staring at us right in our face! -
Pen88n:
The above said maybe credible if it is from someone who forsake comfortable life in city to live in a remote village where there is complete absence of the luxury of modern technology. But from someone who live in singapore who enjoy air-con everywhere from offices to shopping centers and MRT, and beside that enjoy plasma TV, big fridges at home, modern medical care such as surgeries that was once impossible etc..and even the fact that we are able to sit behind something call the PC and using something call internet to post these messages in this forum. Can we ask ourselves whether we can forsake all these?
That is why there is all this talk about end of the world! The way humans are treating the earth: causing global warming which causes all the drastic climate changes and disasters, and now building nuclear plants to satisfy the never-ending energy needs due to the so-called modernisation. Every nation wants to race ahead of the other, without consideration of the damage to our future generations.ksi:
I really hope they take feedback unlike the casino issue.
Personally, I think we are going into a syndrome of \"advancement\" at a non-stop pace. In fact, returning to Stone-age is also an option we should seriously study to save our Earth. This, is also an advancement, towards preserving the Earth.
Play with fire, we get burnt....Haven't our ancestors told us this repeatedly?
With all these scenarios, we are just building more and more time-bombs. End of the world is like staring at us right in our face! -
i donch know what to perceive of this but all i can say is that having nuclear plants on our little red dot is bringing forward dooms day.
Singapore is one country who is always ahead or tries to, so if our neighbours start its plan soon, well, singapore will not be far behind. -
WeiHan:
The above said maybe credible if it is from someone who forsake comfortable life in city to live in a remote village where there is complete absence of the luxury of modern technology. But from someone who live in singapore who enjoy air-con everywhere from offices to shopping centers and MRT, and beside that enjoy plasma TV, big fridges at home, modern medical care such as surgeries that was once impossible etc..and even the fact that we are able to sit behind something call the PC and using something call internet to post these messages in this forum. Can we ask ourselves whether we can forsake all these?[/quote]We may not be able to foresake all these, but we can explore ways to cut down, so as not to deplete resources too fast. We can explore alternatives, instead of going towards nuclear power. It is not a one person, one nation effort, but if every person / nation make that effort, this can work. We should not become the nation to embrace nuclear power, just becos we do not want to be left behind or do not want to try out other options.
That is why there is all this talk about end of the world! The way humans are treating the earth: causing global warming which causes all the drastic climate changes and disasters, and now building nuclear plants to satisfy the never-ending energy needs due to the so-called modernisation. Every nation wants to race ahead of the other, without consideration of the damage to our future generations.Pen88n:
[quote=\"ksi\"]I really hope they take feedback unlike the casino issue.
Personally, I think we are going into a syndrome of \"advancement\" at a non-stop pace. In fact, returning to Stone-age is also an option we should seriously study to save our Earth. This, is also an advancement, towards preserving the Earth.
Play with fire, we get burnt....Haven't our ancestors told us this repeatedly?
With all these scenarios, we are just building more and more time-bombs. End of the world is like staring at us right in our face! -
[quote]But from someone who live in singapore who enjoy air-con everywhere from offices to shopping centers and MRT, and beside that enjoy plasma TV, big fridges at home, modern medical care such as surgeries that was once impossible etc..and even the fact that we are able to sit behind something call the PC and using something call internet to post these messages in this forum. Can we ask ourselves whether we can forsake all these? [/quote]
Yes I can forego.....
1. If ventilation is good and fans are installed in replacement, I can accept these at home. The other thing is to bathe multiple times a day.....But life has to slow down to in order to do things more manually. In public places, if someone stinks, I think no aircon place is better too, at least the stale air can flow away... :rotflmao:
2. the shopping centres...I think there are simply too many at this point.
3. TV is not an essential for us and we don't own a plasma still. :lol: I must be the only one having an ancient TV at home.
4. Personally we don't even have space for a big fridge....so that is again non issue.
5. Lastly, Internet communication is also not critical to me no matter how much I adore KSP.com. There is also a thing called telephone. In fact, the more accessibility, the more we waste electricity by using it unnecessarily. Especially for social networking, I prefer the traditional way. I am one who is widely exposed to technology and yet found many technological creation unnecessary or rather good-to-have, especially the online games and social networking. Lifestyles actually become unhealthy because of that, so why feel the pinch to let it go?
So Stone-age lifestyle feasibility study, anyone? -
ksi:
[quote]But from someone who live in singapore who enjoy air-con everywhere from offices to shopping centers and MRT, and beside that enjoy plasma TV, big fridges at home, modern medical care such as surgeries that was once impossible etc..and even the fact that we are able to sit behind something call the PC and using something call internet to post these messages in this forum. Can we ask ourselves whether we can forsake all these?
Yes I can forego.....
1. If ventilation is good and fans are installed in replacement, I can accept these at home. The other thing is to bathe multiple times a day.....But life has to slow down to in order to do things more manually. In public places, if someone stinks, I think no aircon place is better too, at least the stale air can flow away... :rotflmao:
2. the shopping centres...I think there are simply too many at this point.
3. TV is not an essential for us and we don't own a plasma still. :lol: I must be the only one having an ancient TV at home.
4. Personally we don't even have space for a big fridge....so that is again non issue.
5. Lastly, Internet communication is also not critical to me no matter how much I adore KSP.com. There is also a thing called telephone. In fact, the more accessibility, the more we waste electricity by using it unnecessarily. Especially for social networking, I prefer the traditional way. I am one who is widely exposed to technology and yet found many technological creation unnecessary or rather good-to-have, especially the online games and social networking. Lifestyles actually become unhealthy because of that, so why feel the pinch to let it go?
So Stone-age lifestyle feasibility study, anyone? [/quote]ksi. There are not much incentives for you to stay in a modern city then. It might be better for you to migrate to a remote village. However, living in a village not only meant forsake certain technological luxuries but you will have to put up with \"low technological\" jobs to make a living. -
I haven’t made up my mind about nuclear energy in Singapore’s context.
But in response to those who say that we should seek to reduce our energy consumption, I’d like to highlight that while that is surely a worthy goal (and something that government has been gradually encouraging), it relies on many individuals and their enlightened self-interest. The government cannot sit around and wait, hoping for all Singaporeans to reduce, reuse and recycle. What if it never happens?
In the meantime, fossil fuels will get more and more expensive. This does not simply mean that we will experience slower growth. It may also mean we experience no growth or a contraction in our economy in the long-run. And as we become increasingly reliant on imports of fossil fuels, we will also become increasingly dependent on the states which supply us with these, states which may not necessarily be keen on seeing us do well. (Just look at the angst we had in our relationship with Malaysia over water.)
The thing is, our generation may not live to see this played out, but our children will. The issue is not whether we go nuclear or not. It is how we are going to secure our energy needs. A full study of alternative fuels should be studied. And, it is within this context that we need our government to look at nuclear as well as other sources. We cannot simply say no to nuclear without careful consideration simply because of fears of a Fukushima. This would be almost superstitious. How many of us actually know anything about nuclear energy? (reading about Fukushima doesn’t count because it is in the media’s DNA to focus on the disaster aspects of the event) If we don’t, how can we then simply shut off that option because we fear? I want to know our options, the alternatives. I want to know the risks. I want to know how we can reduce risks, and by how much. Only then can I make an informed decision as to how to move forward on this issue.
(ps: on the issue of solar energy, I understand that although we seem to get a lot of sunlight here, it is hard to harness because we also have lots of cloud cover, making it an uncertain source of serious energy. And solar energy also requires quite a lot of space. I’m not saying we can’t go solar. Just pointing out that it’s not so straightforward. Certainly, this is something we should expect the government to look at as well.) -
WeiHan:
ksi. There are not much incentives for you to stay in a modern city then. It might be better for you to migrate to a remote village. However, living in a village not only meant forsake certain technological luxuries but you will have to put up with \"low technological\" jobs to make a living.[/quote]Grow organic foodstuff and earn $$$$, create back-to nature homestay, sure to attract many pple. The kampong homestay in M'sia is gaining popularity.ksi:
[quote]But from someone who live in singapore who enjoy air-con everywhere from offices to shopping centers and MRT, and beside that enjoy plasma TV, big fridges at home, modern medical care such as surgeries that was once impossible etc..and even the fact that we are able to sit behind something call the PC and using something call internet to post these messages in this forum. Can we ask ourselves whether we can forsake all these?
Yes I can forego.....
1. If ventilation is good and fans are installed in replacement, I can accept these at home. The other thing is to bathe multiple times a day.....But life has to slow down to in order to do things more manually. In public places, if someone stinks, I think no aircon place is better too, at least the stale air can flow away... :rotflmao:
2. the shopping centres...I think there are simply too many at this point.
3. TV is not an essential for us and we don't own a plasma still. :lol: I must be the only one having an ancient TV at home.
4. Personally we don't even have space for a big fridge....so that is again non issue.
5. Lastly, Internet communication is also not critical to me no matter how much I adore KSP.com. There is also a thing called telephone. In fact, the more accessibility, the more we waste electricity by using it unnecessarily. Especially for social networking, I prefer the traditional way. I am one who is widely exposed to technology and yet found many technological creation unnecessary or rather good-to-have, especially the online games and social networking. Lifestyles actually become unhealthy because of that, so why feel the pinch to let it go?
So Stone-age lifestyle feasibility study, anyone?
I also dun have big plasma tv. I think we are offered so many technological stuff that many think we will get bored or become helpless without them. I don't like 3D cinema, nor see the need to buy a 3D tv at home. I'm surrounded by 3D in real life, why do I need to buy?
I don't have cable, no PSP, no ipad, no gaming, no iphone , you get the idea. I'm not against technology but there's no need to be slave to it. -
MummyThreeStreams:
What if figurative speaking, a rogue regime takes over our neighbouring country and sends a missile right into our reactor? Or a hijacked plane crashes into it? Unless I can be convinced that modern 4th gen nuclear reactors can withstand such an attack, it'll always be extremely unnerving to me.I haven't made up my mind about nuclear energy in Singapore's context.
But in response to those who say that we should seek to reduce our energy consumption, I'd like to highlight that while that is surely a worthy goal (and something that government has been gradually encouraging), it relies on many individuals and their enlightened self-interest. The government cannot sit around and wait, hoping for all Singaporeans to reduce, reuse and recycle. What if it never happens?
And the simple reason for my fear - don't think I'm superstitious - is, we must always prepare for the worst scenario. And in the worst scenario, there is nowhere for us to run. -
SAHM_TAN:
Your idea about growing food is good because we are getting lack of food worldwide. But even for growing food nowaday, we are talking about using modern technology to make the growing and harvesting economical. Without being economical would mean that your output is small and that will mean that you will be making peanut, the real peanut, not that BIG peanut.
Grow organic foodstuff and earn $$$$, create back-to nature homestay, sure to attract many pple. The kampong homestay in M'sia is gaining popularity.
I also dun have big plasma tv. I think we are offered so many technological stuff that many think we will get bored or become helpless without them. I don't like 3D cinema, nor see the need to buy a 3D tv at home. I'm surrounded by 3D in real life, why do I need to buy?
I don't have cable, no PSP, no ipad, no gaming, no iphone , you get the idea. I'm not against technology but there's no need to be slave to it.
When we are talking about technology, don't be limited and misled that it just means plasma tv and internet connection for entertainment purpose. These technology which includes transportation, agriculture, fast communication etc..actually reduce the cost of business which translates to productivity which in turn translate to products including those food and daily necessities that feed the world population. Without modern technology, world production will be so low that most people will live under the poverty line.
We are in fact dependent on technology to be able to provide this huge world population a reasonable comfortable life. Without them, most people in the world will be struggling even to live a decent life. I hope you understand what I meant. Technology today isn't just about entertainment.