Actually, people are talking about atomic energy.
It turns out I may have spoken too soon (and not for the first time). On June 22 in the CT Liveblog, in a posting entitled "Gas and Hot Air," I wondered why no one is talking about nuclear power as a partial answer to the nation's energy woes. Actually, people are talking about it. According to a report in today's Chicago Tribune, fears over global warming are sparking thoughts among environmentalists that maybe splitting the atom is the lesser of two evils, even though storing nuclear waste and protecting against possible terrorist attacks remain issues:
"Patrick Moore, a Greenpeace co-founder who has become a fervent nuclear energy advocate and industry consultant, said the industry needs to prepare for such worst-case scenarios, but those shouldn't drive the debate over nuclear energy.
"Moore said his former environmentalist allies, some of whom now deride him as a corporate shill, are stuck in a Cold War mentality that lumps together the benefits and dangers of nuclear technology.
"'You don't ban the beneficial uses of a technology just because that same technology can be used for evil," he said. 'Otherwise, we would never have harnessed fire.'"
Posted by Stan Guthrie on July 2, 2007 3:14PM
Comments
Funny how some peoples' fervently held beliefs change suddenly when they're offered a fat consulting contract.
Posted by: Justin Passing at July 2, 2007
Although Moore acknowledges working for an industry group, there is no evidence the contract is fat. It may be he was shilling for oil and gas tax money before and now, spooked by the prospect of death, is trying to straighten up.
Posted by: G. R. L. Cowan, boron combustion fan at July 2, 2007
All corporate spokespeople aside, regardless of where they started before abandoning their morals, nuclear cannot stop or even dent global warming. The IPCC report shows that only a small amount of nuclear energy can be added to current capacity in the next ten years. Scientific consensus is that this is too little, too late. In other words, dangerous expensive nuclear power AND catastrophic climate change. Not good.
Posted by: gabe at July 3, 2007
Not to go on a tirade here, but I think it's also worth noting that nobody would even think of hijacking an airplane and flying it into a wind turbine.
Posted by: gabe at July 3, 2007
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