NUCLEAR ENERGY: BOOMING NOW BUT WHAT ABOUT 2030? 2050?

What we decide now determines what the world will be like in a quarter century or a half century.

JFK’s dealings with Krushchev in the Cuban missle face-off meant Ronald Reagan could meet Gorbachev. Reagan’s dealings with Gorbachev brought on the world we live in.

NewEnergyNews has no doubt we will be reliant on ever more expensive fossil fuels and ever more necessary nuclear energy over the next 2-3 decades. But what future will we now commit ourselves to? More of the same?

Fossil fuels give wealth and political leverage to people who have not yet come to terms with modernity and fossil fuels compromise the atmosphere we live in.

Nuclear energy is dangerous in several ways. Nuclear accidents happen frequently (See AFTER JAPAN NUKE PANIC, GERMAN NUKE COVER UP, CONSIDER WIND) and have occasionally been catastrophic. There is presently nothing safe to do with the small amount of unrecycled waste (which becomes a lot when there is a lot of nuclear energy) and there may never be.

Is that the energy infrastructure you want to build for the next generation?

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Renewable energies are plentiful. Intermittency is only a temporary issue. Economies of scale, and facing the true costs of fossil fuels and nuclear, will soon make renewable energies completely cost effective.

The only problem with wind and solar is that we haven’t built enough of it. Because we have not faced the decision, though it is now time to do so: What kind of future do you want to make?

Nuclear Booms Almost Everywhere
Stefan Nicola, August 3, 2007 (UPI)

WHO
German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel (center-left Social Democratic Party); German Chancellor Angela Merkel (center-right Christian Democratic Union);

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WHAT
Despite recent nuclear facility failures and passionate opposition from Gabriel, Merkel is pushing ahead with the development of nuclear plants in Germany. Nuclear plant construction and renovation is ongoing or planned all over the world and scientific innovations promise more.

WHEN
A preceding German government pledged a “phase out by 2021” policy for nuclear energy.

WHERE
Finland and France are building, the US is planning to build, China has 40-45 reactors in the works. Russian nuclear scientists are developing a floating plant for Namibia and Morocco. Sweden and Belgium are upgrading their facilities.

WHY
- Merkel’s government does not support the phase out of nuclear. When the G8 governments affirmed nuclear’s role, Merkel was unable to go along because of the phase out but she contends her government will reverse the policy.
- Proponents: nuclear is emission-free, cheap, reliable, predictable, safe and not dependent on Middle East oil or Russian natural gas.

The problem is that stuff happens, and when it happens with nuclear energy it really HAPPENS. (click to enlarge)

QUOTES
“Phasing out nuclear energy, Merkel's CDU argues, is not timely in light of the changing reality in the energy world.”

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UN Inspectors Assess Japan Nuke Plant
Katsumi Kashara, August 5, 2007 (Washington Post)

WHO
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team representing the United Nations (UN) led by Philippe Jamet, director, Nuclear Installation Safety Division; The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (Atsuyuki Suzuki, chairman), Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

WHAT
Six UN nuclear energy experts are conducting an independent inspection of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear energy plant subsequent to the damage done by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake which killed 11, injured more than 1000 and caused malfunctions and leaks at the plant.

WHEN
The earthquake was July 16. The UN inspection began August 6 and a preliminary report is expected August 10.

WHERE
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear energy plant is on Japan's north-west coast in the Niigata prefecture. Some reports now contend the plant was built on the fault which caused the quake.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear energy plant

WHY
- Jamet stressed his team’s inspection will be independent and will include a written report.
- Radioactive iodine leaked from an exhaust pipe in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear energy plant following the quake, adding to previous worries about the 1200 liters of slightly radioactive water that spilled into the nearby ocean and the dozens of broken barrels of nuclear waste. Ultimately, TEPCO revealed hundreds of problems and damages though officials reported there was little radioactivity released and there are no health or environmental dangers associated with the leaks and spills.
- Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, with 7 nuclear reactors, has the largest nuclear energy generating capacity in the world. Preliminary reports were that it may remain closed for a year. This is expected to result in power shortages for Japan during the high demand summer months.
- Much criticism has surrounded the plant’s handling of the quake’s damage.
Japan’s 55 nuclear reactors produce 30% of its electricty. The country plans to expand capacity.

QUOTES
- Suzuki: "The safety of the plant was fundamentally maintained and we avoided the serious consequences of a nuclear accident…The list of problems announced by Tepco has no serious effect on the safety of the reactor."
- Yasuhisa Shiozaki, Japanese government spokesman: "Since there was such a huge earthquake that surpassed our expectations, we need to consider future measures for quake resistance…"