Nuclear power

[polymath257]

The actual amount of highly radioactive material is quite low. And the lower level stuff is less dangerous overall than a lot of the stuff emitted by conventional plants.
People tend to freak out about radioactivity, but you get more from a stone wall than you would get from most man-made sources. And definitely more if you ever fly in an airplane.

Allow me to play devil's advocate a bit here. (For rhetorical purposes.)

First, we can acknowledge that, with climate change on our plate, the benefits outweigh the risks of nuclear power. But there are still risks. Chernobyl. Fukushima nuclear disaster.

And isn't solar activity a concern? (I'm asking. Because I don't really know the science involved.) Isn't it bad if we install mini nuclear plants all over the place and then get hit with a barrage of solar activity? Couldn't that lead to potential meltdowns all over the place?

Again. I'm just being rhetorical here, and maybe hoping to learn something.

Yes, there are risks. But the risks depend, to some extent, on the type of plant built. Chernobyl didn't have many safeguards that are standard today.

Fukushima, on the other hand, was a major disaster. But even there, we can compare the damage done to what a coal plants emits on a daily basis.

As for solar activity, I have no idea what you are saying. I guess there is a possibility of a large solar flare taking out the electric grid, but that wouldn't make the nuclear plants any more or less risky. It depends on what safety measures they have installed for the case of a power failure.