nuclear-news

Call for sustainable non nuclear energy

New Greenpeace Chief Calls for Sustainable, Nuclear-Free Power Supply New York Times November 18, 2009 By JAMES KANTER – Kumi Naidoo speaks “…………..we can have a clean, sustainable power supply if we embrace existing technologies like wind and solar power. It is a priority to engage more people in this debate.Change on the scale needed will require popular support. People understand that coal and oil are dirty and nuclear power is dangerous. However the coal, oil and nuclear industries have spent years building their political connections. It will take sustained public pressure to cut through that and get real change…………

Nuclear power is a dangerous distraction to real solutions. When you extend a nuclear plant’s life beyond what it was designed for, you make an unsafe technology even more dangerous, create even more waste, and put off decisions on adopting real solutions…………………

The shift to a more intelligent grid is coming, consumers will benefit, industry will benefit and the planet will benefit. The obstacles are the fossil fuel lobby and the nuclear industry who would face increased competition. In the U.K. we’ve seen coal and nuclear companies — E.ON and EDF — asking the government to protect them from the growth of renewable energy. That tells us all we need to know about how winnable the campaign is, and who the obstacles are………………..

it’s time to have a fundamental rethink about the western lifestyle. We know that if everyone consumed at the same rate as an American we’d need eight planets just to support ourselves. But this isn’t just an issue about rich countries — the middle classes in China and India can make the same choices as their Western counterparts. So we need to make sure they get smart as well.

New Greenpeace Chief Calls for Sustainable, Nuclear-Free Power Supply – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com

November 19, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, 2 WORLD, climate change, ENERGY | antinuclear, Copenhagen, nuclear, renewableenergy, renewables