With the obvious urgent need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and the global demand for energy rising exponentially, nuclear energy may be the only non-carbon-emitting technology capable of meeting the world's requirements.
The nuclear industry's image has been compromised by the threat of weapons proliferation, reactor malfunctions and the storage of radioactive waste. However, today's proponents argue that improvements in reactor design have made them safer, as well as more fuel-efficient and cost-competitive to build, compared with coal plants.
Participants in the panel discussion include energy technology entrepreneur Gus Nathan, environmental scientist Barry Brook, and international energy law expert Kim Talus. Talus is especially critical of the absence of balanced and objective discussion about nuclear energy in Australia, the polarised positions akin to a "religious issue." He also opines the lack of public education and industry expertise. Brook is convinced a very fast reactor is something Australia should be strongly considering.
"Thinking Critically About Sustainable Energy: A Nuclear Future" is the fourth of a series of public forums hosted by RiAus aimed at providing a comprehensive examination of sustainable energy technologies and a critical evaluation of their potential for reducing carbon emissions.
Bio
Barry Brook
Barry Brook is an environmental scientist known for his lively blog at bravenewclimate.com. He is currently Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change at the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute. Brook completed his PhD at Macquarie University on the subject of population viability analysis in 1999. He has a background in biodiversity management and conservation ecology.
Brook's work focuses on global environmental change, and the impact that climate change and global warming are having on traditional risks to natural systems. In recent years he has become a respected commentator on energy policy, and has conducted considerable research on systems modeling for sustainable energy. He recently co-authored with Ian Lowe the book Why vs. Why: Nuclear Power.
Gus Nathan
Gus Nathan is Director of the Centre for Energy Technology. His research career has been aimed at developing sustainable energy technologies, spanning combustion and emissions control, bio-fuels, the mechanics of single and two-phase flows, and geothermal, solar and wind energies.
Within these fields he has authored or co-authored some 60 papers in international journals and 110 for peer-reviewed conferences, delivered keynote lectures at international conferences, and applied for seven patents which have been filed or granted internationally.
Professor Nathan led the design team for the award-winning fuel and combustion system for the Sydney Olympic Relay Torch.
Dr. Kim Talus
Kim Talus is a lecturer in International Energy and Resources Law at the UCL School of Energy and Resources, Australia. Previously, Kim worked as a researcher at the Institute of International Economic Law at the University of Helsinki, where his research focused on European Union energy law. He has also worked in private practice and at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Talus has received several international awards for his work, including the 2008 Scholarship Award of the International Bar Association.
Energy released from atomic nuclei in significant amounts. In 1919 Ernest Rutherford discovered that alpha rays could split the nucleus of an atom. This led ultimately to the discovery of the neutron and the release of huge amounts of energy by the process of nuclear fission. Nuclear energy is also released as a result of nuclear fusion. The release of nuclear energy can be controlled or uncontrolled. Nuclear reactors carefully control the release of energy, whereas the energy release of a nuclear weapon or resulting from a core meltdown in a nuclear reactor is uncontrolled. See alsochain reaction, nuclear power, radioactivity.
Energy produced by nuclear fission of heavy atomic nuclei. About one-third of all electric power worldwide now comes from nuclear power plants. The navies of many countries include nuclear-powered warships; almost half of U.S. combat warships are nuclear-powered. Most commercial nuclear reactors are thermal reactors. Two types of light-water reactors in use throughout the world are the boiling-water reactor and the pressurized-water reactor. In the liquid-metal fast-breeder reactor, fuel is utilized 60 times more effectively than in light-water reactors. See alsonuclear energy.
JGordoH: No you're wrong. The plants very seldom fail to the point of leakage or meltdown and when they do, the damage is largely so small it actually effects people beyond those that were working at the plant at the time of failing. Even with Fukushima, the number of people that have actually died as a result is low and the only future problem will be that we can't go near the site without certain precautions.
The waste problem is the primary concern.
Writerman: The difference is important since it's far easier to make a container which can isolate the waste for several hundreds of years than it to make one which does the same for thousands.
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The main point about this method of producing energy is that it is cheap in a way we simply can't comprehend. Uranium and thorium quite simply is stuff you find in dirt. Almost every country on the planet as a vast supply of this stuff just laying around.
With energy this cheap we could do things we simply couldn't imagine to be possible today.
Interesting how these guys always seem to gloss over the safety issues. They like to platy the numbers game instead. Fancy championing something that is only dangerous for 300 years as an alternative to something that remains dangerous for thousands of years? Last time I looked either option covers at least 10 generations of mankind!
With the reactor failure in Japan as a result of the earthquake casts serious doubt about the safety of nuclear energy. It's not like there won't be more earthquakes, especially in electricity hungry areas like California. The issue isn't about what to do with the waste, but what happens to the reactor during disasters.
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