NEI Nuclear Notes

In Tuesday's edition of the Washington Post , Australian environmentalist Tim Flannery reviewed James Lovelock's new book about global warming, The Revenge of Gaia : Lovelock's principal motivation in penning his latest work is not to better define Gaia (although he does that) but to warn us that, if nothing is done, Earth is on the brink of moving into a "hot state" -- and if it does, "most of us, and our descendants, will die" prematurely and needlessly. The cause of the heating, he writes, is the greenhouse gases released by our fossil-fuel-driven economy. So yes, "The Revenge of Gaia" is another book about global warming. Yet this is a wondrous and novel essay, both for what it has to say and for the insight it affords into one of the most ingenious, if eccentric, minds of our age. [...] In this crisis, however, Lovelock believes he does know what must be done. And his prescription -- develop nuclear power as swiftly and effectively as poss...

A Gaia Theory conference held this weekend at George Mason University's Law School drew nearly 200 environmentalists, educators, policymakers ... and the nuclear energy industry. Our message: Nuclear energy has a role to play in addressing climate change. James Lovelock , a British environmental scientist who postulated the Gaia Theory as a way of understanding the planet as a self-regulating entity, would agree. Essentially, his theory asserts that living organisms and their inorganic surroundings have evolved together as a single living system that greatly affects the chemistry and conditions of Earth’s surface. In his latest book, " The Revenge of Gaia ," Lovelock writes, "There is no alternative but nuclear fission until fusion energy and sensible forms of renewable energy arrive as a truly long-term provider. Nuclear energy is free of emissions and independent of imports from what will be a disturbed world." I staffed a booth for the Nuclear Energy Instit...

I just started reading James Lovelock's new book, The Revenge of Gaia , and I've already tripped over some interesting passages in his chapter on energy sources. It was in that chapter that I read about a BBC program that aired in 2004 entitled, If ... The Lights Go Out . Here's a description : In the first episode, set in the winter of 2010, Britain is struggling to generate enough electricity to cope with demand. Most of our gas reserves in the North Sea have been used up and the country is already heavily dependent on imported gas to generate electricity, most of which we buy from Russia. At that time gas fuels almost 60% of UK electricity generation, and renewables (mostly wind) 10%. Coal and nuclear have fallen to about 16% each. A terrorist attack on a gas pipeline in Russia cuts off much of the UK’s gas supply. This incident coincides with prolonged cold and calm weather, causing massive power cuts in the East and South of England with devastating effects. [...] Suc...

James Lovelock's book, The Revenge of Gaia is being translated into German, which is why Der Speigel got around to interviewing the venerable climate scientist . I'm guessing most environmental radicals won't like what he has to say: Lovelock has nothing but ridicule for environmentalists' favorite issues, such as "sustainable development" and "renewable energy," calling them "well-meaning nonsense." He is convinced that wind and solar energy will never be even remotely capable of meeting worldwide energy needs. In China alone, for example, a new large coal power plant is put into operation every five days, imposing additional burdens on the atmosphere. The only solution, according to Lovelock, is the massive expansion of nuclear energy worldwide. A reliable supply of electricity, says Lovelock, is the key issue when it comes to survival on a warmer planet. He loses no sleep over the risks of nuclear power. "Show me the mass graves o...

James Lovelock , the originator of the Gaia Theory, will be in Washington on Friday, September 8 at 7 P.M. to lecture and sign his most recent book, The Revenge of Gaia . The event is sponsored by The Audubon Naturalist Society , The Wilderness Society , The Carnegie Institution and Politics and Prose bookstore. The lecture will be at the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The specific location is below, and directions are available from the Carnegie Institution website, www.dtm.ciw.edu : Carnegie Institution of Washington Department of Terrestrial Magnetism 5241 Broad Branch Road, NW Washington, DC 20015 There is no charge for the event, but reservations are required through Politics and Prose. Email Bonnie Kogod at bkogod-at-politics-prose.com or call her at 202-0363-7738. Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy , Environment , Energy , Politics , Technology , Electricity , Nuclear Power , James Lovelock , Climate Change , Global Warming , GHG

Scientist and climate expert James Lovelock, who has been warning for the past two years that the world must turn toward nuclear energy in order to lower greenhouse gas emissions and stave off the effects of global warming, is raising the alarm once again in the pages of the Independent (U.K.): The climate centres around the world, which are the equivalent of the pathology lab of a hospital, have reported the Earth's physical condition, and the climate specialists see it as seriously ill, and soon to pass into a morbid fever that may last as long as 100,000 years. I have to tell you, as members of the Earth's family and an intimate part of it, that you and especially civilisation are in grave danger. On February 2, Lovelock's next book, The Revenge of Gaia will be published. For a preview, click here . Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy , Environment , Energy , Politics , Technology , Electricity , Nuclear Power , James Lovelock

You gotta love this line of thinking : [L]ast night I curled up with James Lovelock's The Revenge Of Gaia instead of watching Live Earth. I'm pretty sure it was a much better use of my time. Read the rest right now .

Over at Planetsave , Shirley Siluk Gregory, a self-described nuclear skeptic, has just finished reading James Lovelock's book, The Revenge of Gaia . Though she still has her doubts about nuclear energy, that didn't stop her from compiling 10 Green Arguments for Nuclear Power . Give it a look.

Last week, we told you about how James Lovelock was headed to Washington to deliver a lecture on his latest book, The Revenge of Gaia . Yesterday, The Democratic Daily took a closer look at the book and Lovelock's theories. Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy , Environment , Energy , Politics , Technology , Electricity , Nuclear Power , James Lovelock , Climate Change , Global Warming , GHG