A nice short documentary on nuclear energy, based on the work of nuclear expert Arnold Gundersen.
Archive for the ‘nuclear’ Category
Dial “M” for Meltdown
Posted in nuclear on September 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
When will Scotland be free of radioactivity from nuclear plants?
Posted in nuclear on September 29, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Tip: try never. The Dounreay nuclear plant, in Scotland, was shut down in 1993, after releasing tens of thousands of radioactive fuel fragments to the sea. Now, the Scottish Environment Agency recognizes that it won’t be able to restore the seabed to pristine condition and will have to settle for remediation. That’s it. Stan Blackley, [...]
A radiation expert blasts Japan’s response to the Fukushima meltdown
Posted in nuclear on August 10, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Professor Tatsuhiko Kodama, head of the Radioisotope Center at the University of Tokyo, recently gave a shocking testimony on Japan’s parliament (the Lower House in the Diet), condemning the government’s response to the nuclear crisis. The videos, with English subtitles, are available on Youtube (part 1, part 2) and are well worth to watch, as [...]
Jonathon Porrit vs George Monbiot on nuclear power
Posted in nuclear on August 10, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Two posh britishmen discussing nuclear power. Not exactly my cup of tea, I really don’t like the arrogant tone both regularly use, but interesting to follow. Jonathon Porritt argued in a blog post that nuclear power supporters within the environmental movement are hijacking the debate over the future of energy, by putting it in terms [...]
The Fukushima dilemma
Posted in nuclear on August 9, 2011 | 2 Comments »
While news break out of record levels of radiation in the Fukushima nuclear power plant (Guardian), residents with children face a hard choice: leave their homes and jobs or expose their children to radiation levels above the recommended level. In the local schools, children face several restrictions. they cannot play soccer or baseball, swim in [...]
Make that two more years
Posted in nuclear on August 3, 2011 | 1 Comment »
The most advances nuclear reactors in construction are the European Pressurized Reactors (EPRs), built by the French company Areva. EPRs, which are generation III+ reactors, are supposed to be safer than generation II reactors, like the ones from the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant. In reality, the situation is more complicated and EPRs could fare even worse [...]
Where is the rug to cover our nuclear trash?
Posted in nuclear on August 2, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Six decades after the first nuclear plants went into operation, there is still no solution in sight for radioactive waste. As reprocessing experiences were a complete failure, governments are now looking for places to dump the waste, leaving to future generations the burden of dealing with the radiation leaks for millions of years. But costs [...]
Twenty-five years later, we still don’t know what happened in Chernobyl
Posted in nuclear on May 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Nuclear power enthusiasts say they know what were the implications of Chernobyl’s meltdown: a few people died and life went on as normal. They then dismiss all studies that show possible health hazards from radiation exposure, as these studies don’t fit their narrative. On the other side of the barricade, nuclear power opponents tend to [...]
Stuff to read
Posted in nuclear on April 17, 2011 | 1 Comment »
A selection of articles on nuclear power. Robert Constanza (et al) on the subsidies given to and external costs of nuclear power: As the unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan has shown, the costs of cleanup after a nuclear meltdown are borne in large part by national governments and taxpayers rather than the industry. Paying for [...]
How pro-nuclear “environmentalists” end up parroting the nuclear industry
Posted in nuclear on April 14, 2011 | 2 Comments »
Evidence #1: The CEO of Westinghouse Electric, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of nuclear reactors, said that health risks from Fukushima were minimal, even for people living within the exclusion zone (Financial Times). I urge you to find the differences between his arguments and George Monbiot’s. Evidence #2: Mark Lynas is so desperate to “show” [...]
