Nuclear Energy: Is It Really an Option?
PARIS (Reuters) - Expectations of a sharp rise in energy demand and the risk of climate change are pushing many countries to return to the idea of nuclear power, the head of the United Nations (news - web sites) nuclear watchdog said Monday.
Even the most conservative estimates predict at least a doubling of energy usage by mid-century, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told a conference on nuclear energy in the 21st century. More from Reuters ->
Holy smoke .. The United Nations is considering the use nuclear energy due to a sharp energy demand in mid century. Philosophically, I am in favor of the use of nuclear energy; however, I don't think we are ready to take that risk. A nuclear fallout will have tremendous, negative impact on the environment for thousands of years; plutonium has a half-life of 24,000 years. The power of nuclear energy was demonstrated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Chernobyl wasn't just an accident, it was a tragic disaster on a massive scale.The Wisdom Keepers of the Mohawk Nation teach their people to respect the land, and that "... everything [we] do affects the Seventh Generation and we must think of the unborn faces looking up from beneath Mother Earth".
This news item makes me think of a book I stumbled on while in college. Though it is not considered "light" reading, as the reader is bombarded with specific political strategies, I do recommend giving it a go if you can get your hand on a copy of "Hawks, Doves and Owls: An Agenda for Avoiding Nuclear War," Graham T. Alison.In 2002, we were only seven minutes away from midnight on the DOOMSDAY CLOCK.
And finally, I found a couple of articles on this topic that are informative and easy to read:
- "The History of Nuclear Energy," U.S. Department of Energy
- "Worldwide Effects of Nuclear Wars - Radioactive Fallout," U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
another point of view ...
I think we need a big breakthrough and get clean, reliable energy. I don't think nuclear is the answer, but wouldn't that solve all our problems?
- sv
We're not ready for nuclear energy. We're going to blow ourselves up before we'll learn to use it.
- Donald Dunlap
speak up!
I think we need a big breakthrough and get clean, reliable energy. I don't think nuclear is the answer, but wouldn't that solve all our problems?
- sv
We're not ready for nuclear energy. We're going to blow ourselves up before we'll learn to use it.
- Donald Dunlap
speak up!
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