this post was submitted on 13 Aug 2024
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I didn't want to take this at face value without context so I found when they discussed this. Check around 1:17:00 in this video.
https://youtu.be/lfBQoWxQaEM?si=6Ev6rx62KESH-HgR
And yeah, he did say exactly what the OP states. So... yeah.
To give the absolute benefit of the doubt, I could say they were referring specifically to nuclear fallout rather than the initial explosion, as a full on explosion is less likely in a nuclear plant emergency. But even assuming it was just an incredibly distasteful way to reference that, there are still thousands of deaths and even more injuries/illnesses associated principally with radiation poisoning.
This is not to say I'm against nuclear energy, but by god we've got to have more careful consideration than this.
Edit: As a bonus, Musk talks about his views on global warming around the 1:10 mark. The issue with greenhouse gasses is, uh... making it hard to breathe?
For more context: hes comparing nuclear energy disasters like chernobyl to the bombings of japan, saying that because those cities recovered therefore people are wrong about chernobyl still being uninhabitable and that people shouldn't be so scared of nuclear energy. Hes not saying bombing cities isnt so bad in general, just that its not as bad as how "(((they)))" say it is at chernobyl. Nevemind the fact that even if chernobyl was able to rebound it still would've been a major and tragic disaster!
This actually perfectly demonstrates his lack of knowledge and ability to perceive himself unduly as an intelligent person because of his financial success. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were able to rebuild and the nuclear fallout was short-lived because the bombs were detonated miles above the ground to maximize their immediate devastation, while the chernobyl reactor exploded on/in the ground and there is still uncontained radioactive material within the compound because it is basically impossible to clean up.
Also, the comments on that video are depressing.
I haven't watched the video - so I'm going on what is said above, but its like these billionaires are not seeing people as human. They see that after Hiroshima people live in the city but cannot understand that those people weren't fungible. We didn't replace them - they are different people.
Two other small points, but first a caveat - I'm very pro civil nuclear power.
It simply isn't possible for any nuclear power plant to explode like a nuclear bomb. That can't happen - like my car contains an engine but can't fly like a plane. There have been nuclear leaks and chemical explosions in nuclear plants - these are bad. However, they are very different things from what happened to Japan.
Modern nuclear weapons would have much higher yields and probably fallout. Here's a terrifying tool for the morbidly curious:
https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/
thanks for the cool link, had some fun and it's educational too!
I feel like Musk needs to meet the Elephant’s Foot so he can understand why Chernobyl is not inhabitable
Meanwhile the fallout from hiroshima and nagasaki is mostly disappated by now.