Sweden changes course on nuclear power (Lifts Ban)

AP via Google News ^ | February 5, 2009 | KARL RITTER

[DeepThought42]

The Swedish government agreed Thursday to scrap a three-decade ban on building new nuclear reactors, saying it needs to avoid producing more greenhouse gases.

Sweden is a leader on renewable energy but is struggling to develop alternative source like hydropower and wind to meet its growing energy demands. If parliament approves scrapping the ban, Sweden would join a growing list of countries rethinking nuclear power as a source of energy amid concerns over global warming and the reliability of energy suppliers such as Russia. Britain, France and Poland are planning new reactors and Finland is currently building Europe's first new atomic plant in over a decade.

The agreement was made possible after a compromise by the Center Party, a junior coalition member which has long held a skeptical stance toward nuclear power.

"I'm doing this for the sake of my children and grandchildren," said party leader Maud Olofsson. "I can live with the fact that nuclear power will be part of our electricity supply system in the foreseeable future."

[libh8er]

I wonder if the liberals will promote rain power next. I mean falling rain does have some energy and could drive tiny turbines..

[Darwin Fish]

The Union of Communist Scientists is deeply saddened.

[musicman]

[winner3000]

I doubt we will ever be this practical. Our environmentalists are now more ridiculous than Europe’s!

[ak267]

If the green freeks in Sweden can compromise, then anything is possible.

GO TOPES !!!!

[WOBBLY BOB]

I hope the Swedish Bikini Team is at the new plant’s grand opening.

[3niner]

As they say, "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

Of course it makes sense to use more nuclear power, but not because it's "green".

These idiots think that having more CO2 in the air is somehow bad for green plants. Nothing could be further from the truth. Plants need CO2!

All plants on Earth have evolved to use 2 to 5 times the level of CO2 that we currently have in our air. They are all stressed due to low CO2 levels. As CO2 levels and temperatures have risen from what they were 200 years ago, plant growth has improved.

Biologists have discovered that making more CO2 available to a plant causes it to grow faster, larger, and healthier, with less water.

That said, humans don't control the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and atmospheric CO2 levels don't control temperature.

[The Great RJ]

While the Europeans are waking up and recognizing that nuclear power is the most efficient and “green” form of generating electricity, the global warming cultists and environmentalist wackos will force the US to go to wind and solar power. I hope when people in the US are shivering or sweltering in their darkened homes they will wake up.