Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 04/14/2011 8:47:14 PM PDT by neverdem
NEW YORK - When parts of Japan were devastated recently by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, news of the human toll was quickly overshadowed by global fears of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant. The concern was understandable: radiation is very frightening. I grew up in Denmark at a time when fear of nuclear power was pervasive.
But our latest nuclear fears have broader implications, especially for energy supply and our desire to shift away from reliance on fossil fuels. It is difficult to step back at the time of a natural disaster to gain a broader perspective; even attempting to do so can feel crass. But there are some facts that we should not overlook.
During the round-the-clock coverage of the nuclear drama, the specter of Chernobyl has been raised repeatedly. It is worth noting that the worst nuclear disaster in history directly caused only 31 fatalities. The World Health Organization estimates that 4,000 deaths could be linked to the disaster over 70 years, whereas the OECD projects a range of 9,000-33,000 deaths during this period.
That is substantial. But consider that, according to the OECD, every year nearly one million people die from fine-particle outdoor air pollution. Yet this massive death toll provokes no discernible fear in the developed world, and receives virtually no news coverage.
Of course, every country with nuclear power facilities should revise its safety measures in light of the Japanese disaster, which raised obvious questions about the sites chosen for such facilities. Clearly, plants located near tsunami-prone areas need to be reconsidered, and some countries have power plants in disturbingly close proximity to seismic faults - and to large cities.
But while America's commitment to nuclear power was quickly reaffirmed by President Barack Obama, some European governments took the knee-jerk decision...
(Excerpt) Read more at project-syndicate.org ...
Ping.
A chance discovery may revolutionize hydrogen production
Senators Question Safety of Water Used in Gas Drilling
Studies Say Natural Gas Has Its Own Environmental Problems (Barf alert!)
Thanks for the ping!
Taking pressure off of the price of oil would be welcome in any event.
Japan’s destroyed and leaking reactors are of designs that are long obsolete — no new reactor would be built like this, and the new designs are much more leak resistant. Perhaps the pace of replacing older reactors with new designs should be increased, especially in earthquake and flood prone areas.
Lomborg is a statistician. He got in a lot of trouble, literally, for questioning Global Warming orthodoxy. See his Wikipedia article, In a 2010 interview with the New Statesman, Lomborg summarized his position on climate change: "Global warming is real - it is man-made and it is an important problem. But it is not the end of the world."
Nuke ping.
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