Tram Town
Friday, June 03, 2005
| Category: Energy I think I've just signed up as an anti nuclear energy lobbiest. Why? Because Bob Carr has signed on as pro nuclear. "I just think the world's got to debate whether uranium-derived power is more dangerous than coal," Mr Carr said.There is no debate. Nuclear is safer. "The polar ice caps are melting, every glacier on the planet is sliding away to extinction.Simply not true even on the extreme greens' interpretation of the literature. "The planet is warming up and we need some new energy source until wind and solar and hydrogen become available.Wind cannot provide base load power (it's not always blowing). Solar is a net consumer of power and only useful in relatively remote locations where real cost of power doesn't matter so much. Hydrogen may be useful as a mobile energy source but the power to produce hydrogen from water has to come from somewhere, probably nuclear. Anyway, is what warming has been observed anthropogenic? That is not even approximately established. "I just think the world's got to debate whether uranium-derived power is more dangerous than coal," he said.What mind? Ignore that first sentence. Nuclear power is the cleanest, cheapest and safest power source available to us. Get over it! UPDATE: Alright, I'm being a bit obstreperous and I should be happy that the sense of nuclear power is even getting as far left as the likes of Bob Carr and Peter Garrett but... I am still seriously irritated at the ABC's reporting of this change of climate. The two experts they decided to talk to about this were Helen Caldicott and Bob Brown. Prominent anti-nuclear campaigner Dr Helen Caldicott says nuclear power production creates massive amounts of global warming gases and she describes it as a "cancer industry".I'm glad this twit is not my GP. Greens Senator Bob Brown says the tide of public opinion is against it.The worst ever nuclear disaster produced 50 deaths maximum and it was in a totalitarian society with very little in the way of checks and balances. I bet Bob doesn't rely on the Soviet era Aeroflot safety record in his decisions about flying. |
