Links for 2022-03-09
How much nuclear energy would be needed to replace European natural gas? — “This seems like a big number. But it is also the equivalent of five times France’s current nuclear capacity, which was brought online over a period of about 15 years. So it is certainly doable, as it has been done before.” https://rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p/how-much-nuclear-energy-would-be?s=r
440 reactors producing electricity in their fourth to sixth decade of service...100s more power ships & submarines...just 3 accidents...No one has called for closing chemical plants—even though there have been far more fatal chemical plant accidents. https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/a-1908-lesson-in-risk-and-reward/
Between 1920 and 2000, labour requirements to produce steel were reduced by a factor 1000. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_oxygen_steelmaking
War in the time of Neanderthals: how our species battled for supremacy for over 100,000 years — “The best evidence that Neanderthals not only fought but excelled at war, is that they met us and weren’t immediately overrun. Instead, for around 100,000 years, Neanderthals resisted modern human expansion.” https://theconversation.com/war-in-the-time-of-neanderthals-how-our-species-battled-for-supremacy-for-over-100-000-years-148205
‘Drug Factory’ Beads Implanted in Mice Take Out Tumors Within a Week https://newatlas.com/medical/drug-factory-beads-tumors-cancer-week/
Scientists Watch a Memory Form in a Living Brain https://www.quantamagazine.org/scientists-watch-a-memory-form-in-a-living-brain-20220303/
The cold hard truth about electric vehicles in winter https://www.axios.com/the-cold-hard-truth-about-electric-vehicles-in-winter-c6e35798-92c5-4ef2-9a67-029a693436dc.html
Graphcore Unveils Next-Generation AI Chips and Plans for Powerful Supercomputer https://venturebeat.com/2022/03/03/graphcore-unveils-next-generation-ai-chips-and-plans-for-powerful-supercomputer/
Why We Built a Neuromorphic Robot to Play Foosball https://spectrum.ieee.org/robotic-foosball-table
Why Ethereum Is Switching to Proof of Stake and How It Will Work https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/03/04/1046636/ethereum-blockchain-proof-of-stake/
Here is some of what environmentalists did to Germany:
1. They caused thousands of unnecessary deaths per year through air pollution by preferring to shut down nuclear power plants before coal power plants.
2. They made Germany produce 6x more CO2 emissions per unit of electricity than France by rejecting nuclear power.
3. They made Germany fund Russian wars by opposing nuclear power and fracking.
4. They caused existence-threatening energy prices by a botched "Energiewende".
And despite all of this, people still vote for them and promote them into government positions.
We live in the era of hockey stick graphs.