# Greenpeace: Fucking idiots **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 18, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenpeace-fucking-idiots/384598 "2006-12-18T06:21:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2006, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenpeace-fucking-idiots/384598/121 "2006-12-22T06:51:26Z")
[QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Hasn’t the U.S. lost at least two nuclear subs, the _Thresher_ and the _Scorpion_? [/QUOTE] There have been incidents with nuclear subs, but few due to problems with the nuclear part of them, and none at all in close to 30 years. The [Thresher](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Thresher_(SSN-593)) imploded in 1963 while doing tests to see how far it was possible to dive (answer: whoops, not _that_ far). The [Scorpion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Scorpion_(SSN-589)) was lost in 1968 under circumstances that were initially mysterious, but subsequent investigations conclude that a torpedo malfunction was probably the cause. Those were the only two subs that were ever lost, and neither loss had anything to do with its power plant. * * * A brief list of problems with subs and other nuclear reactors can be found [here](http://www.lutins.org/nukes.html#subs). There are quite a few incidents that make this list only by association; i.e.: it’s a conventional accident that just happens to involve a nuke in some way. The guy who made the site presents these as a record of nuclear power’s record of a lack of safety, but I’d bet that a similar accident list for many other kinds of power plants would show problems that are as bad or worse. I found an [article](http://www.ornl.gov/info/ornlreview/rev26-34/text/colmain.html) about the radioactivity that coal power-plants release into the atmosphere, along with some discussion of other environmental considerations in relation to nuclear power. In short, you’ll have a better chance of “glowing in the dark” if you live close to a coal plant than if you live close to a nuclear one. I believe I found and bookmarked that piece after reading an [article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041401209.html) about nuclear power that I read earlier this year, written by a Greenie, Patrick Moore, who is in favor of nuclear power now though he opposed it in the past. I think we’ve done threads before on nuclear power. There’s a big thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=328522&highlight=nuclear+reactor) where several people, notably **Stranger On A Train** , give a lot of information about nuclear benefits and difficulties. Lots of info there and seeds to do your own research if you’re interested. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greenpeace-fucking-idiots/384598.md?page=6)