Discuss Nuclear Power and Ireland http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html Wed, 08 Sep 2010 10:59:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html#comment-40 I'm surprised that after extolling the benefits of nuclear power and claiming that Ireland will be largely nuclear by 2030, you conclude by implying that we should import nuclear power. We already import nuclear power so presumably you mean that we should import more? This would have implications for energy security. If we were to build our own nuclear power stations, the biggest obstacle I think would not be safety or even waste but economics. I haven't had a chance to buy your book yet, so I look forward to seeing if you deal with this. Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:34:03 +0100 http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html#comment-36 Thats almost a surreal discussion. Were leaking wasted energy like a third world country - roads full of old cars, houses built without any reference to insulation standards, until very recently - all electric energy from a single dirty polluting power supply monopoly, no alternative to cars as a mode of transport. We've reduced the number of buses as someone else noted. The Greens used to get excited about things like that. Fixing those things alone would greatly reduce our energy usage. Failing to address them would mean that we simply waste other peoples energy in the future - whether its nuclear or not Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:03:11 +0100 http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html#comment-35 Unfortunately, the picture you paint of unpleasant necessity may well be accurate. But the trouble with nuclear is that once the power plants are built, countries aren't going to just dismantle them once renewable energy comes along. If they're getting the energy they need from nuclear, they won't bother setting up the renewable infrastructure. And then when uranium eventually runs out, we'll be back to square one. I don't really buy the arguments of people who say that nuclear power plants are a safety risk in terms of meltdowns. I agree with you that newer model reactors have pretty much eliminated that problem. But isn't waste a huge problem? We have to store all the waste that these reactors produce, taking up more of the limited space on our planet for thousands of years. Pile up enough waste and we'll have another resources problem on our hands. And by importing energy derived from nuclear power from Britain or wherever, we're still responsible for the consequences of their plants. If there was no demand, the reactors wouldn't be built. We're not just citizens of Ireland, but residents of the world too. Wherever the waste is stored, it's partly our responsibility. Of course, it may be the only way. But might it not be possible instead to plough more money into renewable energy research in the hope that new technological breakthroughs will come faster? Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:39:18 +0100 http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html#comment-5 Hi Branedy, Thanks for the comment. The premise isn't false, I think. The question is the speed at which renewable technologies can be rolled out to substitute for 'backbone' technologies like high powered diesel engines in trucks used for industrial purposes, and larger machinery built into factories which only depreciate over a 25-40 year timescale. The point I'm making in the article, and I flesh it out a lot in the book, is that we have to transition from fossil fuels to renewables on this 25-40 year timescale, and nuclear power can help us do that, as a highly imperfect stop-gap. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 22:46:20 +0100 http://www.libertiespress.com/component/content/article/18-stephen-kinsella/153-nuclear-power-and-ireland.html#comment-3 Even together, solar, wind, wave, hydroelectric, and other greener technologies aren't yet up to the task of supplying Ireland's needs If you start with a false premiss, the rest of your argument is also false. Alternative sources can, should they be deployed, supply the needs, and in a shorter time frame than nuclear Fission technologies. Alternative, or waiting for Fusion technology will be be better long term for Ireland. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:26:55 +0100