Renewables vs. the Working Class

[@bbqnice1]

Temporary construction jobs are important for absorbing many tens of thousands of workers in solar and in other parts of the construction industry. Mining pays a lot of workers. Transporting panels from ports and on trucks to job sites pays a lot of workers. Electricity as an input enables economic activity that pays workers. We should draft young men from violent neighborhoods to put solar panels on roofs everywhere

[@mattmexor2882]

Mining what where?

[@chapter4travels]

Or we could build low-pressure/high-temperature reactors that are far better, safer and much cheaper. Except the NRC hates any new technology and stops this progress.

[@carlbennett2417]

The high relative costs of nuclear are implied by the high labour costs of that option. Why choose a more expensive form of energy production just to employ people? There are other more productive things they could be doing. Nuclear doesn't pair well with solar and wind vs batteries, pumped hydro and even gas (if you really want to burn fossil fuels). Sorry nuclear, you were kind of ok for a while, if you ignore long-term waste, but we'll see you when you mature into fusion.