Last Thursday, the UK Government gave its backing for a new nuclear power building programme, reigniting the debate on the safety of this power source despite its potential for solving the UK’s growing energy problems.
For those supporting nuclear power, it is a cheap and safe form of energy that does not produce global warming in the same way that gas and coal power stations do.
Whilst the spectre of Chernobyl is continuously raised by nuclear objectors, it is easy to forget that France, with the majority of its nuclear power stations within a stone’s throw of the south coast of England, has generated the majority of its power from this source for decades without one single accident.
A strong case can be made that the construction of nuclear power stations is strategically vital in reducing the UK’s growing dependence on imported energy.
With oil being largely generated in the Middle East - one of the most politically unstable regions in the world - and the majority of gas coming from Russia – a country that is happy to cut off supplies when politically threatened - there are real worries that any disruption in the supply of energy could seriously impact the economy of this country.
No wonder that Finland, despite its record as being one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, is building new nuclear power stations to reduce any future dependency on its larger neighbour.
Having studied nuclear physics at university, I have no problems at all with nuclear power, its generation or its safety. However, as it will take ten years to construct these new stations, I believe the Government must also invest serious money in finding a solution to the problem of nuclear waste to ensure that it is minimised and managed, rather than being seen as an afterthought that can be dealt with quietly after the generators are built.
Growing evidence of global warming means that the main issue for the UK Government is one of developing energy sources that do not precipitate climate change, although the decision to support nuclear power also reflects the complete failure of our leaders in Westminster and Cardiff Bay to invest and develop major sustainable energy sources over the last ten years.
The obsession of politicians with windpower at the expense of any other form of renewable energy generation has meant that there is now little option but to increase our dependency on nuclear power, although with the talents available within our universities and high technology industries, there is no reason why we couldn’t have become world leaders in tidal power, solar cells and clean coal technology.
Unfortunately, we are where we are, and as the great visionary and environmentalist James Loveluck noted in the Independent three years ago, the worldwide use of nuclear power would “pose an insignificant threat compared with the dangers of intolerable and lethal heat waves and sea levels rising to drown every coastal city of the world”.
With the global clock ticking and governments having done little to address climate change in a meaningful manner, the real paradox for many is that nuclear power, of all potential sources of electricity, may end up being the only solution to further global warming.
For those supporting nuclear power, it is a cheap and safe form of energy that does not produce global warming in the same way that gas and coal power stations do.
Whilst the spectre of Chernobyl is continuously raised by nuclear objectors, it is easy to forget that France, with the majority of its nuclear power stations within a stone’s throw of the south coast of England, has generated the majority of its power from this source for decades without one single accident.
A strong case can be made that the construction of nuclear power stations is strategically vital in reducing the UK’s growing dependence on imported energy.
With oil being largely generated in the Middle East - one of the most politically unstable regions in the world - and the majority of gas coming from Russia – a country that is happy to cut off supplies when politically threatened - there are real worries that any disruption in the supply of energy could seriously impact the economy of this country.
No wonder that Finland, despite its record as being one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world, is building new nuclear power stations to reduce any future dependency on its larger neighbour.
Having studied nuclear physics at university, I have no problems at all with nuclear power, its generation or its safety. However, as it will take ten years to construct these new stations, I believe the Government must also invest serious money in finding a solution to the problem of nuclear waste to ensure that it is minimised and managed, rather than being seen as an afterthought that can be dealt with quietly after the generators are built.
Growing evidence of global warming means that the main issue for the UK Government is one of developing energy sources that do not precipitate climate change, although the decision to support nuclear power also reflects the complete failure of our leaders in Westminster and Cardiff Bay to invest and develop major sustainable energy sources over the last ten years.
The obsession of politicians with windpower at the expense of any other form of renewable energy generation has meant that there is now little option but to increase our dependency on nuclear power, although with the talents available within our universities and high technology industries, there is no reason why we couldn’t have become world leaders in tidal power, solar cells and clean coal technology.
Unfortunately, we are where we are, and as the great visionary and environmentalist James Loveluck noted in the Independent three years ago, the worldwide use of nuclear power would “pose an insignificant threat compared with the dangers of intolerable and lethal heat waves and sea levels rising to drown every coastal city of the world”.
With the global clock ticking and governments having done little to address climate change in a meaningful manner, the real paradox for many is that nuclear power, of all potential sources of electricity, may end up being the only solution to further global warming.