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Nuclear power – a dubious solution to global warming

Nuclear’s long odds. Climate change is here, but nuclear power as a solution faces economical and historical challenges. High Country News, Paul Larmer Dec. 10, 2018 “…….. outside Los Angeles, the Woolsey Fire, fanned by the same late-season winds, raced through chaparral toward the sea, burning the houses of both rich and poor.

Coming on the heels of a deadly hurricane season and a tempestuous election, the blazes delivered an unmistakable message: Climate change is here, no matter how vociferously some deny it, and we have to take notice…….

 a global expansion of nuclear power to replace carbon-spewing fossil fuels — is embraced by few in the U.S. To them, the solution is clear: Go nuclear or risk the planet. But, as Jonathan Thompson writes, nuclear power’s future is more uncertain than ever. Utilities have largely turned to cheaper natural gas and solar and wind, and are considering shuttering existing nuclear plants as they come up for relicensing. Meanwhile, the long-hoped-for (and heavily subsidized) new generation of small, nimble plants — “nukes in a can” — has had trouble gaining traction, even in the conservative Interior West.
It’s not just the economics. After all, we could decide to swallow the costs and go all-in on nuclear to slow what the latest National Climate Assessment report (released, ironically, the day after Thanksgiving) says is already upon us: the accelerated floods, droughts and fires that will cost us tens of billions of dollars annually.
But nuclear power and weapons production are both still saddled with a legacy of spills and meltdowns and radioactive waste, contaminating sites like eastern Washington’s Hanford nuclear complex……..https://www.hcn.org/issues/50.21/editors-note-nuclears-long-odds

December 11, 2018 - Posted by | general

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