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Arcturus

@Arcturus@kbin.social
Arcturus,
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BYD isn't exactly better... But I guess this will be cheaper. You lose out on the really handy supercharging network tho... Don't know how this will work out...

EXCLUSIVE: Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes (www.hackingbutlegal.com)

When China’s prodigious tech influencer, Naomi Wu, found herself silenced, it wasn’t just the machinery of a surveillance state at play. Instead, it was a confluence of state repression and the sometimes capricious attention of a Western audience that, as she asserts, often views Chinese activists more as ideological tokens...

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

She was always keeping a moderate tone, always leaning towards supporting China and the Chinese state as well. I thought she'd skip around the censors because of it.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Perhaps an exaggeration?

Life expectancy did increase, with a few blips in the 1930's, but this doesn't seem particularly out of the ordinary, it also increased during the Tsarist government if you look outside of the Sino-Japanese War and WWI era. There really isn't much consensus here, as well as a marked increase in living standards.

Other countries during that time period also had significant life expectancy increases over that period, which I think is just attributed to better infant mortality rates.

The only metric that that could be demonstrably better than than the Tsarist regime was education levels and literacy as a whole.

It was really from mid-1930's that Soviet Russia was actually pulling away from the Tsarist regime. But who's to tell that, had not WWI happened that gradual development would happen under the Tsar, or even the Provisional Government?

Germany had been worried about Russia's potential since both the German Empire and the Third Reich.

Similarly, you do see a different rate of industrialisation from post-WWII China and Japan.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

China's President sent his own daughter to Harvard and China has wide income inequality, as well as the greatest proportion of millionaires and billionaires in the world. The wealthy in China go on day trips to Paris to literally eat cake.

How China became the king of new nuclear power, and how the U.S. is trying to stage a comeback (www.cnbc.com)

China has 21 nuclear reactors under construction which will have a capacity for generating more than 21 gigawatts of electricity, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. That is two and a half times more nuclear reactors under construction than any other country....

Arcturus, (edited )
Arcturus avatar

But it's not the general public who is averse to nuclear, they're as a whole, probably more in favour of it. The current Swedish governmrnt campaigned on it. It's nuclear companies themselves who don't want it. Which is partially why Sweden suddenly and quietly scrapped their plans.

Arcturus,
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Renewables?

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

It's not profitable. For example, in Sweden, the companies involved aren't interested. There was talk of EDF being restructured a couple of years back separating the unprofitable nuclear away from their other businesses (until state bailout and investment). Their CFO resigned over their decision to carry on building UK's latest nuclear powerplant. The Conservatives only pushed through the UK's next nuclear powerplant only after giving EDF assurances and ability to start taking in profits before the completion of the project.

This is what it takes to build nuclear. A lot of state money... Whereas renewables are cheaper, easier, and faster to decarbonise.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Sweden was a bit of an outlier though. Most younger Swedes live alone. And they tend to follow government advisories. New Zealand's strategy was stellar, particularly early on in the pandemic. You could do what you want. I remember we were out having concerts as if there was no pandemic, thanks to the zero COVID strategy. But by late-Delta, early-Omicron, zero COVID could not longer be sustained, and it was clear only mitigations would stick. The government hoped to eliminate it like they did the other times, but it was just impossible then, people had become complacent. But yes, on the healthcare-side and economic-side, NZ fared better than Sweden.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Ukraine is part of Russia? Does that mean Kiev can legally march on Moscow?

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

But that's the thing with nuclear. The upfront costs are massive, and literally irrecoverable. Can you name a single nuclear powerplant that has broken even? I can't. Not unless, it's one that the government has built and then handed over to private industry, for example. Reducing safety from nuclear powerplants is not viable long term. And that's the only way to get them commercially viable.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Is it though? You'd need to cut the price of nuclear by about 1/4. Even then, renewables are faster at decarbonisation. Not that nuclear represented a large amount of the German grid in the first place. Best case scenario for Germany, is extending the lifespan of their plants not more than a few years.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Poor track record with safety (not talking about the big issues such as meltdowns, but smaller issues such as minor leaks, and workplace incidents). Nobody's interested in building them unless they've got profit guarantees and subsidies from the government. Nobody's interested in insuring them in full (unless it's the government). Nobody's interested in the eventual decommissioning process, which can take a century, and again, still costs. Renewables will be up and running, and profitable, long before nuclear is constructed.

Arcturus,
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People also think that nuclear is some sort of magical thing that provides cheap unlimited energy on demand, when really it's an expensive, lumbering option, that is slow to construct and difficult to maintain. There's a reason why even China prefers renewables over nuclear, and they have reactors for military research.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

It took Finland nearly two decades to complete Scandinavia's newest reactor. Sweden can remove the cap, but good luck finding private companies willing to invest in that. Not without guaranteed profits and subsidies. Of course Sweden could just build it themselves. But it's not cheap.

Arcturus, (edited )
Arcturus avatar

So, you're going to spend, billions, to build a nuclear powerplant, that will decarbonise at a slower rate, never turn a profit, be an economic sinkhole megaproject, or, you could just build a solar panel or wind turbine in like, a year, where it'll be functional and working. Profits allow you to reinvest into more projects. Losses, mean you're putting endless amounts of money into less.

Arcturus,
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Perhaps the timetable for them could've been extended, but when literally one of the largest nuclear power companies in the world prefers renewables, and balks at the cost of opening a nuclear powerplant without significant government guarantees and subsidies, that should tell you something. The nuclear argument is usually fuelled by the mining lobby. Even China, who does not care for public opinion, and has an active nuclear stake for military purposes, prefers renewables. The only argument for Germany was the when was the appropriate time to shut down the reactors, not that it shouldn't have been done.

Arcturus, (edited )
Arcturus avatar

Depends. Renewables are faster at decarbonising than nuclear. Only if we're starting from scratch. They're also cheaper, and at scale, more reliable. Difference here was, Germany shut down existing nuclear before they could ramp up renewables. I will add that this is the most generous argument to maintain nuclear.

Arcturus,
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It's actually the worst time to get started on nuclear. Costs keep going up. There's a reason why countries overwhelmingly prefer to invest in renewables over nuclear. This includes nuclear companies. EDF is one of the largest investors in renewables, and it's actually the profitable side of the business. It's going to be the taxpayer that's going to pay for nuclear, and they're not going to get their money's worth, as opposed to renewables.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

You can't go cheap on nuclear. Otherwise you're looking at a myriad of political corruption and safety concerns, which in part will cost you a government, where you'll eventually have to start all over again. Or you could just invest in renewables. Like what China is overwhelmingly doing.

Arcturus,
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Do we count EEZ encroachments in the Pacific? Only reason why China isn't as militarily adventurous as Russia right now, is because they know they're not ready yet. Not really yellow scare nonsense when China itself (Republic of) is concerned about this.

Arcturus,
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Largely, but they are finding some traction in some communities around the world. Nothing too much to worry about, but annoying, nevertheless.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

Same here in New Zealand, but we lost a Prime Minister due to the concerted efforts of the far-right. Donald Trump would never make it here, but they can chip away at the institutions we built. I'm fine with another ideology clash, we can push them off the map again for another generation or two.

Arcturus,
Arcturus avatar

We should just give Americans complimentary abortions if they travel overseas. Pretty sure it wouldn't be too much of a dent to global public healthcare systems.

Arcturus,
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Well, the website is a bit of a distraction. The car sells well in Europe and China respectively, not just the US. Much like how SpaceX has largely been a success globally as well.

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