Saturday, July 9, 2011

Australia's Nuclear Proponents Examine Anti-Nuclear Movement's Success

Why pro-nuclear has failed when anti-nuclear has succeeded | Decarbonise SA

Some clips:
"The anti-nuclear movement in Australia has been remarkably effective. Combined with abundant cheap coal, Australia’s anti –nuclear movement has kept us the only one of the world’s top 16 economies not to employ nuclear power. It made people like me grow up anti-nuclear without ever really being asked to think about it. The result is some of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the world; in South Australia around 720g CO2-e/kWh (which is one of the lowest levels in the country I might add. NSW, Victoria and Queensland are all much higher), compared to a mere 90g CO2-e/kWh in nuclear dominated France."
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"On another note, did some back of the envelope calculations, to address the CO2 emission issue & closing Playford, Northern, and Torrens down. Replacing them with 2x Reactors, even get away with one (assuming 80% CF; probably adv CANDUs, will cut 6.8 MtCO2-e per year from SA’s emissions profile (from 9.1 MtCO2-e in elec gen; 74% cut). Putting this into the National contex. With one, just ONE, major infrastructure build you can address 41.7% of Australia’s 5% of 2000 level emisisons cut. "
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"We are the people who hit the late 20th and early 21st century and fully accepted that the planet had a suite of urgent and interrelated problems. We are the ones who actually mean it when we use the expression “climate crisis”. We are the ones who have the courage to be open to all solutions in the face of seemingly intractable problems, and to recognise when fear rather than fact is driving the decision making. We are the ones who are prepared to stand against the Australian societal norm, including the friends we leave behind in Australia’s powerful mainstream environmental movement, and say “No, we have been mistaken”. We are the ones who value every human life equally; so logically we value saving hundreds of thousands of lives every year through re-stabilising the climate and cutting air pollution above saving no lives by protesting nuclear power. We are the ones who can see a path to dramatically less mining, pollution and pressure on our forests and wildlands, through bringing energy for development from the densest energy source on earth. We are not energy hedonists nor are we consumption junkies; but we acknowledge the benefits of the energy-rich modern world in the health, safety, security and prosperity it provides. We’re not trying to solve all the problems of the world… the top five or so will do. We are the true environmentalists for the 21st century. This is something to be very proud of."

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