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November 21, 2009
Considering the Nuclear Option
By Tobin Smith
The incident at Three Mile Island and the Chernobyl disaster feel like they occurred in another lifetime and the need for low-emission energy could help many overcome their fears.
Even some of the greens are coming around on nuclear power, especially when you consider that nuclear carries a lower carbon penalty than the coal-fired plants that are prevalent in the United States.
Once we get over the concerns about radioactive waste and spent uranium falling into the hands of terrorists, we can take a serious look at this option.
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Check out this example from the June 2008 issue of Wired magazine.
After studying the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) carbon-per-kilowatt-hour map, it clearly showed that one of the regions with the lowest reading was in Vermont, home to a 30-year-old nuclear plant. The worst area was around Washington, D.C., where coal-fired plants emitted 520 times more carbon per megawatt hour than Vermont.
Do The Europeans Have a Better Handle on Nuclear?
Across the Big Pond, our allies in the United Kingdom released a white paper last year that builds the case for nuclear energy in the carbon credit era.
The government study concluded that when all factors from uranium mining to plant decommissioning are considered, nuclear power gives off 2% to 6% of the carbon-per kilowatt-hour that natural gas produces.
This is just one part of a growing case for nuclear energy that's spreading around the world.
Most of us know the stats regarding nuclear power in France, which derives about 80% of its electricity from that resource.
The French effort was inspired by threats to oil imports, first in the 1950s, and again in the early 1970s. They didn't want to face another oil crisis without a response, and that was the catalyst for their nuclear push.
France now has 59 nuclear plants supplying electricity for the country with enough excess capacity to export 18% of its production to several of its European neighbors. Plus, the public is very accepting of nuclear power, with 70% reporting a positive opinion in a 2001 survey.
