In an excellent editorial in The Australian, Barry Brook and Martin Nicholson, climate change scientists, make the case for nuclear power as an essential component of any climate change plan. To those who think high-profile incidents that took place twenty years ago or more make nuclear power unsafe, they talk about new safety technologies and note:
Comparing the flawed Chernobyl design to today’s reactors is like saying modern aviation is too dangerous because the Hindenburg airship exploded in 1937.
“The technology is straightforward. Used nuclear fuel is taken to a recycling facility where it is chemically reprocessed into a so-called mixed-oxide fuel, which is then used in a nuclear power plant to produce more electricity. This process significantly reduces the need to mine more uranium. And, more importantly, it reduces the amount of nuclear waste that cannot be recycled and must be stored in concrete-and-steel cylinders until an underground repository becomes available….Closing the nuclear fuel cycle with a reprocessing facility would increase nuclear power’s share of electricity generation in the United States; further the goals of meeting the nation’s energy needs from power plants that don’t pollute the air or emit greenhouse gases; lessen the need for imported uranium; and significantly reduce the amount of nuclear waste that will need to be permanently disposed of. Let’s get on with it.”
– Lynn Edward Weaver, president emeritus of the Florida Institute of Technology (from news-press.com November 19, 2009)
As part of the audience yesterday during the opening plenary of the American Nuclear Society’s annual conference, I heard speeches from some of the industry’s most prominent leaders, government officials, and distinguished politicians. They spoke of the critical need for new nuclear builds over the next few decades, but never has this message had so much at stake. Facing a global crisis on multiple fronts, they have all come forward to say that while nuclear is not the answer, it must be part of the solution.
America needs nuclear because it will be a domestic energy source that is clean and reliable, and one that can provide thousands of jobs. But these leaders already understand this message and are working right now to develop new projects and legislation for a cleaner, secure energy future. It is now up to Americans really look at our needs, the problems we face and make a decision.
“I do believe that climate change is an issue and we need to deal with carbon in the air…I think the most effective way to do it is to double nuclear production and to do heavy (research and development) on alternative energy.”
– Republican Senator Lamar Alexander, who had just announced with Democratic Senator Webb a plan to issue legislation doubling nuclear power in the US within 20 years and funding research into renewables and recycling of nuclear waste.
Closing the session along with Virginia Senator Jim Webb, Senator Lemar Alexander (Tennessee) had a poignant analogy: if we were going to war, we would not mothball our nuclear navy and start investing in sailboats. (video).
“Nuclear will play a key role in our clean energy strategy. And the reality is: nuclear is non-emitting. Nuclear energy displaces between 40 and 80 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually relative to producing the same quantity of electricity from gas or coal.
Canada has been a pioneer in the development of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Today our nuclear industry generates billions of dollars of economic activity and accounts for thirty thousand direct and indirect jobs…. One of the key phrases that you hear is that we’re undergoing a nuclear renaissance. It’s a form of electricity that is being embraced by many countries around the world.
At the International Energy Agency Meetings in Paris last week, leaders around the world re-stated what we have known for some time: without a significant increase in nuclear power, the world will be unable to meet required greenhouse gas reduction targets….
The nations of the world are responding to the challenges of climate change. Canada has developed many innovative technologies that will be vital in meeting those challenges. We are researching, developing and deploying many new technologies. But the nuclear technology that we did so much to pioneer a half century ago will remain at the forefront of the global quest for clean and reliable energy.”
“My purpose behind it is to keep the issue alive and put pressure on Gov. Jim Doyle’s global warming task force so they recognize nuclear must be the central point of any carbon-free program…”
“Wisconsin has to catch up with the rest of the country and the rest of the world, where nuclear is recognized as a safe way to expand electric generation capacity and reduce pollution without crippling the economy.”
– from State Rep. Mike Huebsch, and Rep. Phil Montgomery, on their proposed bill to end Wisconsin’s ban on new nuclear power plants
