Nuclear Resurgence

[Viking12]

From the The Consortium for Science, Policy, and Outcomes - Arizona State University

Part I
1. Is nuclear power economically viable?
2. Is there a technically- and politically-acceptable solution to the problem of permanent storage of nuclear waste and will the absence of a solution choke off the current “nuclear spring.”?
3. Will the global environmental movement embrace nuclear power as a tool in the fight against global climate-change, or will it continue its opposition?
4. Should the problems of nuclear power be internationalized through a treaty or a voluntary yet binding agreement among nations with nuclear power plants?

http://www.cspo.org/ourlibrary/perspectives/Zachary_January05.htm

Part II

The special nature of nuclear power can perhaps best be appreciated by conceding the best of all possible worlds from the standpoint of strident advocates of this energy technology. The best-case scenario for nuclear power, in short, is that the economic case for it grows stronger in the coming years, as prices for oil, gas and coal rise and the exploitation of renewable resources (wind, solar, geothermal) rises only slowly. Let’s concede, also, that the environmental case for nuclear power grows stronger in the coming years, with more urgent curbs on greenhouse gases and more effective means of storing nuclear waste. Finally, let’s concede that the technological case for nuclear power grows stronger in the coming years, with the advent and commercialization of a new generation of reactors that are simpler to build and maintain, produce less waste and leave little room for operator error.

-Snip-

In this brief essay I will chiefly raise questions about the security of nuclear plants in the U.S. and their potential vulnerabilities to acts of terrorism. I will then raise the question of the extent to which nuclear-power generation, and the technologies that underpin it, contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

http://www.cspo.org/home/perspectives/index.htm