Nuclear Reaction’s Nuclear Glossary: Part 1
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Hello, and welcome to Nuclear Reaction’s Nuclear Glossary. In this occasional series we’ll be bringing you a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to what the nuclear industry says and what the nuclear industry actually means. Never again will you be confused, fooled or otherwise misled by nuclear industry propaganda, greenwash and false promises.
What they say: ‘Safe’
What they mean: ‘Produces vast amounts of dangerous waste that will be a burden for the next 240,000 years to while dispersing dangerous radionuclides into the environment.’
What they say: ‘Cheap’
What they mean: ‘Hardly affordable even with government subsidies and loan guarantees.’
What they say: ‘We believe nuclear is competitive.’
What they mean: ‘New nuclear power stations will not be built in Britain unless the government provides financial support for the industry.’
What they say: ‘Learning curve’
What they mean: ‘Massive cost and schedule overruns, safety violations, design concerns, and thousands of construction defects.’
What they say: ‘Reliable’
What they mean: ‘Unreliable’
Comments
The basic shortcoming of nuclear energy, be it fission or supposedly clean fusion under development, is the adding more energy to the energy overload already in the biosphere. No one is discussing the energy overload, so Dr. E. Chaisson's paper "Long-Term Global Heating from Energy Usage" in EOS, Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union, V. 89. No. 28, pgs 253-4 (2008) ought to be read to learn the real reason why nuclear energy programs need to be stopped now. You won't be able to beat the heat to come with nuclear energy. Dr. J. Singmaster, Environmental Toxicologist, Ret. Fremont CA, USA
Posted by: Dr. James Singmaster | July 31, 2009 8:48 PM