nuclear-news

Time to depart from the unethical nuclear power industry

The 22-strong ethics commission set up by chancellor Angela Merkel to debate pros and cons of nuclear energy is set to recommend that all nuclear plants be taken out from the grid within the next decade, on May 28. The draft report says, “Ditching nuclear power is necessary to rule out risks it entails. The departure from nuclear energy does not, however, mean abandoning carbon-dioxide reduction goals or suffering ‘energy poverty’.”

Coming close on the heels of the Japanese PM Naoto Kan’s statement that Japan would abandon plans to build more nuclear reactors, this has given ammunition to those opposed to the Jaitapur nuclear plant.

Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), one of the organisations at the forefront of such opposition has questioned prime minister Manmohan Singh’s stand in light of these developments. The PM, it may be recalled, had said that India is determined to push ahead with nuclear power come what may. “This can only be described as both unscientific and irresponsible,” Adwait Pednekar of KBS told DNA.

Activists point out how former German environment minister Klaus Toepfer and the president of the German Research Foundation, Matthias Kleiner, who are members of the Ethics Commission, emphasise that dispensing with nuclear energy could “drive growth” and offers “enormous technological, economic and social chances to raise Germany’s profile as an exporting nation with regard to sustainable products and services.”

The report has also drawn attention to the fact that the use of nuclear power has led to a “poisoning of the social atmosphere,” as surveys have shown that over half of Germans oppose nuclear power, and recommends use of new, more efficient coal-fired plants, and also calls on Germany to establish energy reserves, sufficient for half a year, using hydrogen and methane as storage media. It also envisages increased use of wind and solar power.

“It must be noted that both Germany and Japan have more than 25% of their power generation coming from nuclear power plants. Both countries are large importers of fossil fuels,” said Pednekar.
He added, “Despite their dependence on imports, the fact that both countries have opted to exit from nuclear power is evidence that a serious reassessment of risk and hazard from nuclear reactors has become necessary and unavoidable after the Fukushima disaster.” http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_now-german-panel-backs-anti-jaitapur-movement_1543028

May 15, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, Religion and ethics