<
https://theconversation.com/is-nuclear-the-answer-to-australias-climate-crisis-216891>
"In Australia’s race to net zero emissions, nuclear power has surged back into
the news. Opposition leader Peter Dutton argues nuclear is “the only feasible
and proven technology” for cutting emissions. Energy Minister Chris Bowen
insists Mr Dutton is promoting “the most expensive form of energy”.
Is nuclear a pragmatic and wise choice blocked by ideologues? Or is Mr Bowen
right that promoting nuclear power is about as sensible as chasing “unicorns”?
For someone who has not kept up with developments in nuclear energy, its
prospects may seem to hinge on safety. Yet by any hard-nosed accounting, the
risks from modern nuclear plants are orders of magnitude lower than those of
fossil fuels.
Deep failures in design and operational incompetence caused the Chernobyl
disaster. Nobody died at Three Mile Island or from Fukushima. Meanwhile, a
Harvard-led study found more than one in six deaths globally – around 9 million
a year – are attributable to polluted air from fossil combustion.
Two more mundane factors help to explain why nuclear power has halved as a
share of global electricity production since the 1990s. They are time and
money."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
