Back in the 1950s, we only thouht about one thing when we designed a technological marvel. How it worked and how much it cost to build. We didn't consider:
1. Safety of the General Public.
2. Safety of the Operators.
3. The Envronmental.
4. Cost of Disposal.
In the past 50 years, we have learned a lot of hard lessons:
1. We really don't want to kill and maim our friends and neighbors.
2. If we poison the evironment, we eventually poison ourselves and our children.
3. We have to pay for getting rid of things, now: Burying it doesn't work any more.
So when we evaluate a power technology, we must consider the costs and evironmental impact of the entire life cycle, not just building the power generation technology. This includes both the life cycle of the generation technolocy and the fuel it consumes (if any). This includes all the operating costs, including insurance.
It also goes to say that when evaluating any technology, that any government subsidies for that technology are part of the cost (even if the person or organization building the power facility doesn't bear the costs).
Herbie Robinson, BSEE, Cornell, 1974.
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