Most technologies have applications they are appropriate for, and applications they are not. Nuclear, for example, isn't appropriate for a car. Infernal combustion is a more appropriate technology for cars. However, all nuclear isn't the same. I am sure you'll disagree for reasons you can't articulate, but molten salt reactors are inherently immune to meltdowns, because if something goes wrong the salt freezes and the reactor ceases operation by default.
You're not wrong about open pit mining or nuclear waste. However, these problems aren't necessarily impossible to overcome. Mines can be remediated and waste can be injected into the mantle. These things cost money, and that's the real problem - cost cutting. As is obvious to anyone familiar with planned obsolescence, cutting such costs ends up costing more in the long run, but that cost is income to manufacturers that are then able to sell a replacement item, or remediate the toxic mine after it starts poisoning a local school, etc.
Solar and wind are great tech, they're just not appropriate for commercial power production, while nuclear is. Solar and wind are great for decentralized power production, for homeowners or farmers to produce power where it's needed, but corporations don't want anyone producing their own power.
Again, the problem isn't the tech, it's the politics. They screech about CO2 causing global warming, which is completely false, and downplay the fact that CO2 is a critical limiting factor in ecological fecundity such that having 10x CO2 in the atmosphere (which has been the situation for most of the existence of live on the Earth) would make nature much more robust, and farming far more profitable. It would be facile to feed ourselves - and they absolutely cannot let abundance enable us to be independent of their expensive products.
The real problem we face is overlords. We solve that by appropriately applying technology. We print solar panels on recycled PET. We manufacture our own products locally, and cut corporations out of the economy whenever we can. Everyone should have a 3D printer for making their household products. 3D printers can make clothes, dishes, and all the little doodads and switch parts we depend on today, for example in making 3D printers. By sharing the files we can eliminate vast parasitic flows of wealth that feed overlords, and pool the wealth in our own communities.
When we have nominal wealth we aren't going to tolerate unremediated open pit mines polluting the drinking water. Those mines will be remediated. We solve the source of the problem, overlords, first, and the knock on effects get solved with ease thereafter.
Thanks!
Most people who can see auras, see nuclear power plants with all kinds of dark, negative energy flowing around them. This could be that these things attract negative entities. (there are stories of such in old texts) It could be from these things destroying space in their vicinity. For this reason, i believe that we should not have nuclear power plants... at all.
But, i can reach the same conclusion looking at all the destruction to mine and enrich plutonium. And then the potential destruction if anything goes wrong doesn't help the story any. Add on top of that, the waste containment and disposal, and i am firmly against this.
If these negatives weren't in play, i would totally agree with you. Nuclear is great for a power plant, and ICE is far better in cars.
Did you know that before photovoltaic panels there was solar power? This company had little trough mirrors making steam running a little steam engine. The only problem with it is that it need more and constant maintenance.
I have thought of plans to go against the overlords. A charismatic person should be able to get a huge number of people behind them to actually create green, continuous energy. But, in this path, you usually find it crash because of greed and death.
They just need to chant and wave amethyst crystals, burn some sage, and we're all good.
Solar thermal power has been used for millennia. It was used to light ships afire back in the day. However, it's still not possible to print bronze mirrors today, but we can print solar panels.
Regarding hordes of followers, this is a problem for people that want to lead and rule. I just want my neighbors to be free and prosperous. I don't want to rule them.