The Energy Page

Why Nuclear Power is NOT Clean!

As we shift toward renewable sources of energy, Nuclear Power is often touted as "clean" since it does not result in the production of carbon dioxide. However, nuclear waste is anything but clean. There are four major reasons why we should not go nuclear.

• We have no Strategy to dispose of long term waste.
  Reprocessing has been discussed as an option, but that can only ameliorate the waste problem, as there will always be some residual waste that will remain radiocative for thousands of years.
• The US Government pays the nuclear industry nearly 1 billion dollars a year for long term nuclear waste which is not disposed.
  If more nuclear plants come on line, the government will owe even more money to the industry for long term waste it cannot manage.
• France and Japan, which each get about 80% of their electricity from nuclear power, have a history of nuclear accidents.
  Japan has had five nuclear accidents since 1997. While France has had no major accidents, it has had its share of nuclear mishaps.
• Nuclear power is expensive.
  The Capital Cost component of new nuclear power’s cost/kWh is likely to be from 17 cents/kWh to 22 cents/kWh.
  There has NEVER been a nuclear plant built in the US without a governmental subsidy.

Energy Alternatives

• Renewable Energy, Scientific American, March 2009.
• Energy Efficiency, Scientific American, Sept 2008.
• A Grand Plan for Solar Power, Scientific American, Jan 2008.
• Clean Energy, Scientific American, Sept 2006.
• Energy Stabilization Wedges, Science, 13 Aug 2004.

Do record low temperatures mean Global Warming is a farce?

A climate in equilibrium will have an equal number, on average, of record hot and record cold days in a given year. When you look at the past decade, a recent NCAR study found that record high temperatures have occurred twice as often as record low temperatures. In addition, the NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) climate model showed that even after average global temperatures have risen several degrees by the end of this century, there will still be several days where record low temperatures are recorded. So the evidence is clear, an occasional cold spell is not sufficient evidence to refute global warming.