Europe Phasing Out Nuclear Power

by Satanus 11 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Satanus

  There is an article at http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_30-1-2003_pg3_2

  Belgium is the latest european country that has decided to phase out nuclear reactors.

  The others are Germany, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. Seven other countries Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal have either abandoned nuclear power or never established programmes.

  The remaining european countries that have faith in it are france, britain and finland. Finland has a special reason for using it, as it doesn't want to rely on russia for electricity. Alternately, finland has a lot of wind powered generators.

  The main reasons for denuclearisation are the risks of accidents, and the problems and costs of longterm storage of wastes. They need to keep it somewhere safe for tens of thousands of yrs.

  Let's hope north america realises the dangers as well, and puts its efforts into alternate energy sources. Was that a plug for alt energy?

  SS
• 

  Realist

  saint,

  the fear of nuclear energy is largly unfounded. less people have died from nuclear accidents than from mining for coal.

  alternative energies are unreliable (wind/ sun) and are very costly.

  PS: i still hope nuclear fusion will work in a few decades! :-))
• 

  DanTheMan

  The waste it produces is the aspect that worries me the most. Nasty stuff!!
• 

  greven

  Dan,

  Indeed the problem is not the energy. The energy is quite clean, the problem lies in the fact that we do not know what to do with the waste which is pretty nasty stuff. If the waste problem can be solved it is quite a good energysource...

  Greven.
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  Realist

  the waste is nasty...but if you burry it somewhere in the dessert who cares?
• 

  MegaDude

  We could always store the nuclear waste in Iraq.
• 

  mike047

  Real; Your desert or mine???

  Mike
• 

  RubaDub

  I feel that wind power is the energy choice of the future.

  Wind is very flexible. Wind can be used to generate electricity, it can be passed and it can be broken.

  *****RubaDub
• 

  Satanus

  Rubadub

  Windpower, yah. Almost everyone has it. Yet they just let it pass. Time to harness it!

  Other guys

  Yes, waste storage is the main problem. Having to store it for 20 or 30,000 yrs, if we keep using it, the volume is really gonna build up. That raises the cost as well. Even if they did find a way to process the waste, it would still cost a lot.

  I think we need a new energy source, like fusion, or casimir, or something else. Supposedly the matter is just organised energy, and the vacuum of space (or anywhere) has lots of energy. We need a new way to extract it.

  My opinions SS
• 

  truthseeker1

  I say harness the ocean currents/tides and waves.