Re: Deaths are not the only metric
I don't disagree with you - there is never a perfect solution. The point really was about the relative lifespan of the two - turbines have planned lives of 20 year, solar panels roughly the same or less, depending on the conditions. Most proposed reactors are aiming for lifespans of 40 - 50 years minimum (many current plants are sitting at around 40 years operation & still passing safety inspections).
So while they do use significant quantities of non-recyclable material they use it less often and probably manage to generate more power over their lifespan too - not zero impact (nothing is) but less impact per KW/h generated. It's also contained in a far smaller area, lessening the physical impacts on the surrounding area & wildlife.
Nuclear power is not without concerns, drawbacks and impacts that's for sure but they are at least comparable to quite possible lower than (I'm no expert, just an interested layman) the renewable alternatives.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
