Would the residents of Wellow who refused to have a few wind turbines near their village (who are now fighting to prevent wind turbines being put on Cheverton Down) prefer to have a nuclear power station like this on their doorstep instead?
For those of you who think nuclear power is a good idea or sitting on the fence, here are a few facts about it:
Nuclear power is not carbon emission free! The whole nuclear cycle from uranium mining onwards produces more greenhouse gases than most renewable energy sources with up to 50% more emissions than wind power. Even if we doubled nuclear power in the UK it would only reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8%. This is because nuclear power only contributes to electricity generation which only accounts for up to a third of all carbon emissions. Transport and industry account for most of the rest.
Climate change is happening now. A new nuclear power station will take at least 10 years to build and longer to generate electricity. Wind farms can be up and running in less than a year.
It’s expensive. The nuclear industry is massively subsidised by the British public. Sizewell B, the UK’s most recent power station cost the taxpayer around £3.7billion just to install Decommissioning and cleaning up all of our current nuclear sites is costing more than £70 billion.
It’s not sustainable. The reserves of uranium ores used to generate nuclear power are going to run out. There is only 50 years worth of high uranium ores left in the world. There may be only 200 years left of all uranium ores including poor uranium ores which take more energy to mine and process and thus release more carbon emissions.
Nuclear power threatens the environment and people’s health. It produces enormous amounts of carcinogenic toxic radioactive waste, some of which is dangerous for thousands of years. No safe solution has yet been devised to store it. In particular, there is evidence of cancer clusters linked to nuclear power production. Building new nuclear power stations would increase the most toxic high level waste five-fold.
Uranium mining kills. Uranium mining is the first step in the nuclear power cycle; it has taken the lives of many miners all over the world causing environmental contamination, cancers and nuclear waste.
Nuclear accidents. The risk of terrible nuclear accidents like Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Windscale (Sellafield) will plague a new generation of power stations as it did the first.
A terrorist target. Nuclear power carries with it the risk of nuclear terrorism. In this age of uncertainty, dirty bombs and attacks on power stations are a terrifying threat.
The proliferation of nuclear weapons is inextricably linked to nuclear power by a shared need for enriched uranium, and through the generation of plutonium as a by-product of spent nuclear fuel. The two industries have been linked since the very beginning and a nuclear weapons free world requires a non-nuclear energy policy.
We need a safe, genuinely sustainable, global and green solution to our energy needs. A combination of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency measures which are safe, effective and proven technologies are available now. The government must live up to its Kyoto agreements and invest in sustainable clean solutions to climate change.
“Nuclear is neither necessary nor desirable to meet our climate change targets. It would entail huge economic, military and environmental risks which should be avoided.”
Former Environment Minister Michael Meacher MP, 11/08/05
Today programme Radio 4.
The information above was taken from the CND ‘Nuclear power – not worth the risk!’ leaflet.More information about CND
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I find it hard to believe that any intelligent person could possibly be in favour of nuclear power. (This is my personal opinion and may not be that of other Ventnor Permaculture members BTW. Angie) If I had to look at any power generating facility, I would much rather it looked something like this:
Cornish Wind Farm photo: ennor
Nuclear power station photo :megatick
[...] Go to the author’s original blog: Wind Power or Nuclear Power? [...]
Great article Angie.
I couldn’t agree more!
In our wonderful “capitalist society” the driving force is money, and common sense seems to come quite a way down the list of priorities.
Very depressing.
Yes Tim, it is very depressing. The government have been threatening to remove the need for planning permission on personal wind turbines and solar panels for over three years now, nothing has happened. I know such things are only a drop in the ocean as far as power supplies are concerned but it would help. Also micro-generation would really take off if we had the feed-in tariffs that they have in Germany and other countries.
If anyone does not know what I am on about there was an excellent article in the Permaculture magazine called ‘Power From The People’ that you can read online here: http://www.permaculture-magazine.co.uk/articles/articles_55.html
Have to say I’ve never understood the NIMBYish objections to wind turbines. I’ve always thought them elegant and calming to look at. I’d happily have one looming over my back garden.