Indian policymakers, having made “commitments” to slow (sometime) the growth of their CO2 emissions from power generation (while continuing to build new coal-fired plants at break-neck speed), are casting about for ways to do that. Some call for more nuclear energy plants—the only realistic, affordable path. But others, guardians of Green ideology, oppose it, leaving their counterparts mystified. Why would they do that when the Indian people desperately need abundant, affordable, reliable energy to rise and stay out of poverty? A report in The Hindu prompts the question but offers no substantive answer.
Tip to India’s leaders: Greens’ opposition to nuclear energy, despite its being the best way to reduce the CO2 emissions they (unjustifiably) dread, has a simple, straightforward rationale: they hate humanity and want people (except themselves) to be poor and few. Abundant, affordable, reliable energy, whether from nuclear fuels or hydrocarbon fuels, enables people to be rich and many. Ergo, … the obvious.
H/t to Eric Worrall at WattsUpwithThat.com.
FRLBJ says
Nuclear power plants have a 40 year life span since the whole building becomes so radioactive that no human being can go near them. Also, rain and groundwater will eventually penetrate and take radioactivity out with it. Cancer is not painless and it does kill most of the time. An intern at a TVA nuclear plant divulged the above facts to us. We love any temperature rise and can take it. Burn the fossil fuels please, but do not irradiate us and our children.
E. Calvin Beisner, Ph.D. says
1. Although most nuclear plants are planned for a 40-year life span, they increasingly appear quite ready to serve for 40 to 50 years longer than that, as Scientific American has pointed out.
2. Although spent fuel from nuclear plants is highly radioactive, it can be safely contained. The plants themselves do not become highly radioactive, even at the end of their service. For lots of good info on this, see http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/radiation/related-info/faq.html.
3. The risk of rain and groundwater penetratiing nuclear plants and leaching radiactive material out of them is near zero.
In short, nuclear power plants are probably the safest means we have of generating electricity—and this is true even of plants that use uranium as their fuel. It is much more so of plants (like many that will be built in the future) that use thorium instead (which, by the way, cannot be turned into weapons).