Energy, now and in the future.
While the US government is, slowly, admitting that energy preservation is necessary and setting up a program for youths, called Energy Hog, to make them aware about the use and waste of energy, in Holland they are now suggesting that nuclear energy is the way of the future. Mr Lubbers, who is chairman of the board of control of the Petten Energy Research Centre, claims that nuclear reactors have become safer and that nuclear waste is more and more recycled. "From a technological viewpoint we are ready for it", he states.
Greenpeace doesn't concur, and rightly so in my opinion. There's still no fail safe way to operate a nuclear plant, the risks of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are still very real, the consequenses of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are immense, nuclear waste remains highly radioactive for a 1000 year or more, safely disposing of nuclear waste is extremely expensive, and the risk that highly radioactive nuclear waste ends up in terrorist hands is slim but still there.
A real solution to the demand for energy would be the use of renewable and clean energy sources. None of these sources, like wind energy, solar energy, energy from biomass, etc., will provide the answer but combined they can, must and will. Combine these sources with preservation of energy use in cars, factories and buildings and we could soon be much less dependent on fossil fuels.
Technorati Tags : survival sustainable alternative modern technology energy preservation Holland nuclear energy nuclear reactor nuclear waste recycling Greenpeace nuclear plant power plant meltdown radioactivity terrorist renewable energy wind energy solar energy biomass fossil fuel Shards of Survival
Greenpeace doesn't concur, and rightly so in my opinion. There's still no fail safe way to operate a nuclear plant, the risks of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are still very real, the consequenses of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are immense, nuclear waste remains highly radioactive for a 1000 year or more, safely disposing of nuclear waste is extremely expensive, and the risk that highly radioactive nuclear waste ends up in terrorist hands is slim but still there.
A real solution to the demand for energy would be the use of renewable and clean energy sources. None of these sources, like wind energy, solar energy, energy from biomass, etc., will provide the answer but combined they can, must and will. Combine these sources with preservation of energy use in cars, factories and buildings and we could soon be much less dependent on fossil fuels.
Technorati Tags : survival sustainable alternative modern technology energy preservation Holland nuclear energy nuclear reactor nuclear waste recycling Greenpeace nuclear plant power plant meltdown radioactivity terrorist renewable energy wind energy solar energy biomass fossil fuel Shards of Survival
posted by SoS @ 9:54 PM
2 Comments:
At 6:02 AM,
James Aach said…
As an energy professional, I can tell you that one of the worrisome things about the "cleaner" power technologies is that the numbers don't add up well when it comes to producing large amounts ofelectricity. Even if we cut consumption 50% (not a bad goal, really) the ramping-up of wind, solar, etc. would have to be enormous and would pose it's own difficulties in terms of supply of materials, generator siting, grid organization, etc. Anything can be done, but to say it won't be easy is an understatement. The math has to work out.
I work as an engineer in a nuclear power plant, and have found that almost everyone outside this beloved industry has little clue how it works, regardless of whether they are for it or against it. (There are sound reasons for both postions.) This includes TV pundits, news reporters and magazine writers.
So, I've tried to bridge that knowledge gap in an entertaining way. See http://RadDecision.blogspot.com for my techno-thriller novel of nuclear power, which includes TMI, Chernobyl and a fictional new accident. There's no cost to readers to view "Rad Decision".
"i'd like to see Rad Decision widely read." - Stewart Brand, founder of The Whole Earth Catalog
At 2:31 AM,
Anonymous said…
I think once again, governments are trying to take the easy route, without thinking of the long-term issues...like what they are going to do with all the nuclear waste that gets generated.
Nuclear may be cleaner up front, but its much nastier to deal with down the road.
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