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The "Conversation" About Nuclear Energy

By Eric McErlain
Want to know what public attitudes are like in one of the most anti-nuclear energy regions in the world? Just take a listen to a few minutes of yesterday's edition of The Conversation, a program on KUOW-FM 94.9 in Seattle. Click here (MP3) or here (Real Audio) to listen.

I understand that the region has its own problematic history with nuclear energy, but that's no excuse for some of the nonsense that the host, Guy Nelson, who immediately repeats an utter falsehood about total lifecycle emissions and nuclear energy. After listening for a few minutes, I was impressed with the bravery of a number of listeners who called to make the case for nuclear energy.
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Anonymous said…
It's too bad that anti-nuke nutcases actually convince some people by using arguments against the 1970s era power plants or even out-and-out lies like in this case. The fact is nobody wants more 1970s type nuke plants. They were too expensive to build and the technology has improved by leaps and bounds since then.

Being pro-nuke means being against using foreign oil (our gas guzzling cars), against sulphur and other poisons in the air (coal plants), against carbon emissions that will destroy this planet and everyone on it (natural gas power plants), and against power supply problems like brownouts and blackouts.

With new designs like pebble bed reactors there is no possibility of melt-down because even with a complete coolant failure the reactor reaches thermal equilibrium. And the pebble bed reactor is modular so most parts can be mass produced and shipped to the site, and a community can start with a small reactor and add additional reactors as their power needs grow.

Other new reactor designs will enable cheaper hydrogen production by producing steam of high enough temperature to separate the hydrogen from seawater.

Nuclear power has never been more needed than right now. Mankind faces great peril (or extinction) without it.
October 10, 2007 at 10:20 AM
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