R.C. AndersonNuclear Power in Australia
October 5th 2006 12:56
I spent the last two days at the RMIT Sustainability Festival in Melbourne. This was a festival organised by the RMIT Campus Greens and the RMIT Environmental Collective. There were many highlights including a speech by Greens' Senator Kerry Nettle but one of the things that stood out to me was a debate they had over whether Australia should invest in Nuclear Power.
Now I thought this debate was so obvious that any intelligent person would know the answer to it, but clearly not, so I'm closing the argument once and for all. NUCLEAR POWER IS NOT THE ANSWER
The National Electric Market Management Co. (NEMMCO) did a study recently looking at the viability of nuclear power in Australia. Basically due to the ammount of power output of a reactor, a large percentage of our overhead powerlines would need to be replaced because they could not take the load. This would cost a fortune, not even counting the man hours involved...
Also, to be viable the nuclear power plant would need to be located in Sydney. This would be electoral suicide for any government wishing to do that!
Plus, even if it was economically viable, it would be at least twenty years before we could see a plant operational. Now, if we are waiting another twenty years to solve our environmental problems, we will be in BIG trouble.
So sorry guys, nuclear won't save Australia...
The important thing to realise is that John Howard and all the pro-nuclear lobbyists know full well that nuclear power is not viable in Australia. Really it is just a smokescreen to justify more Uranium mining in Australia and trading with countries like India, who have not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. And people can argue, we'll make sure that OUR uranium doesn't go into bombs but the fact of the matter is that even if OUR uranium is going into plants it frees up THEIR uranium to go into bombs... you can't win. So we need to cut through the bullshit and look at more important debates, like do we rip up more of our Earth to feed these reactors?
And another question... what happens when India is done with the uranium? I mean, almost one billion people in not a big land area, do they have room to dump their waste? No they don't, they will turn to the people who sold them the problem and say, "Hey! You guys have a lot of desert... pretty stable ground, no earthquakes, how about you bury this waste for us?" And Australia would probably have an obligation to do so.
Now these are just simple arguments for why nuclear won't work in Australia, I could quite happily write another page on why nuclear should be abandoned globally, and people can feel free to comment and request that if they like. Sweden is obviously listening to the research, they have recently embarked on a plan to phase out nuclear power and replace it with renewable energy.
As was said at the debate today: If Nuclear Power is the answer... you really have to wonder about what the question was...
Now I thought this debate was so obvious that any intelligent person would know the answer to it, but clearly not, so I'm closing the argument once and for all. NUCLEAR POWER IS NOT THE ANSWER
The National Electric Market Management Co. (NEMMCO) did a study recently looking at the viability of nuclear power in Australia. Basically due to the ammount of power output of a reactor, a large percentage of our overhead powerlines would need to be replaced because they could not take the load. This would cost a fortune, not even counting the man hours involved...
Also, to be viable the nuclear power plant would need to be located in Sydney. This would be electoral suicide for any government wishing to do that!
Plus, even if it was economically viable, it would be at least twenty years before we could see a plant operational. Now, if we are waiting another twenty years to solve our environmental problems, we will be in BIG trouble.
So sorry guys, nuclear won't save Australia...
The important thing to realise is that John Howard and all the pro-nuclear lobbyists know full well that nuclear power is not viable in Australia. Really it is just a smokescreen to justify more Uranium mining in Australia and trading with countries like India, who have not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. And people can argue, we'll make sure that OUR uranium doesn't go into bombs but the fact of the matter is that even if OUR uranium is going into plants it frees up THEIR uranium to go into bombs... you can't win. So we need to cut through the bullshit and look at more important debates, like do we rip up more of our Earth to feed these reactors?
And another question... what happens when India is done with the uranium? I mean, almost one billion people in not a big land area, do they have room to dump their waste? No they don't, they will turn to the people who sold them the problem and say, "Hey! You guys have a lot of desert... pretty stable ground, no earthquakes, how about you bury this waste for us?" And Australia would probably have an obligation to do so.
Now these are just simple arguments for why nuclear won't work in Australia, I could quite happily write another page on why nuclear should be abandoned globally, and people can feel free to comment and request that if they like. Sweden is obviously listening to the research, they have recently embarked on a plan to phase out nuclear power and replace it with renewable energy.
As was said at the debate today: If Nuclear Power is the answer... you really have to wonder about what the question was...
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Comment by Anonymous
Greens all the way
Comment by Anonymous
If we're gonna be that emotional, maybe it's time to go back to the trees. Anyone have a banana?
Comment by Meg
we evolved from great apes. great apes do not live in trees. we are as closely related to monkeys as we are related to mice. which isnt all that much >.<
i dont know how i feel about nuclear power. its not a good idea, but its also not a fossil fuel...
in randomness, did you know we have one of the biggest nuclear power plants in florida right on campus? hooray!
Comment by AndrewH
Comment by Meg
i havent talked to you in ages, buttpie.
Comment by Lilla
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Interesting blog, how surrendipidous, I have just written a piece on my site about the same thing. I would really, really appreciate your comments on what I have outlined in my blog and the ways you feel we get around the issues also outlined. This is such a fascinating subject, I welcome your insights.
Look forward to reading your comments.
Lilla.