I thought hard about posting this one today. Before I start... Snowy, I would hate you to think that I'm having a go... I hate to disagree with you, my friend. (technicallly I'm not disagreeing with all you've said, but overall...) Anyway, this IS an important issue and I'd just like to spread the word. Just the other day I was thinking that it was about time to stir up the energy debate again, given our idiot government and current social climate. Now, I think we all know how I feel about nuclear energy and the possibility that we might be saddled with reactors dotted across our country. And you also know how I feel about the impact of the mighty dollar on big business and corporate decisions. They will try and push the populace into backing nuclear reactors... it's in all their best interests to do so. Independant statements like Snowy's (god forbid), are working in their favour... and Johnny and his boys are rubbing their hands together in glee. Here is some of the best free advertising that they could ask for. (Yes, I can hear Snowy gagging in his weet-bix as I type)
Anyway, click here to read Snowy's entry. My comment on his blog is below (it's kind of a long one). Let me know what you think... then lobby the government. Lift your voices and be heard. Power to the people.
Never say never, Snowy
Once upon a time we thought it was impossible to fly... 50 years ago we thought that reaching the moon was unattainable... 25 years ago mobile phones were the size of bricks, and today it's common to see them the size of a credit card... who knows what will happen in the next 10 years? Do you think we should all be defeatest and give up on trying to find an alternative? What was it that Albert Einstein said?... "If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it?"
Wouldn't it be a shame if we spent all those millions on building nuclear reactors only to find that in another 20 years we could store a year's worth of solar power in one battery pack? And if we built all of those nuclear reactors? How much energy do you think would go into developing a safer alternative... really? What would happen to all of that research that has already been done? Would they try as hard, do you think... or would it come back to the amount of money that the govt has spent on bringing in nuclear energy. You know as well as I do that the almighty dollar rules when it comes to both governments and businesses.
Now, I also know that solar power stations (to run big businesses, etc) do not currently have the ability to work as effectively as coal-burning stations. But a station is not the only way to deliver power to the masses... if it could be augmented by personal home solar systems much of the country could manage quite well. I've seen solar power work on a home scale... a couple of solar panels and some batteries to store the excess. It does work on a single household scale... fairly well, actually... and that's without extra power being obtained from the grid. If every house had one and didn't need to drain the grid, wouldn't there be a hell of a lot more power to go around?
I don't know exactly how much power the country needs, but if that's still not enough, augment the solar power with conventional power until a better technology is born. Yes, coal is dirty but at least it's relatively safe. Safe enough, at least, to be used as a part-time thing... sort of a transition period until safe power alternatives can be developed properly.
NUCLEAR SHOULD NOT EVEN BE CONSIDERED... shame, Snowy.
Oh, by the way, I've seen generators run by solar (Ok, I don't know the size or scale that you're talking about). I've also seen things such as those big wood saws (that slice trees into planks), water pumps, pressure pumps, spotlights (and many more things) run by solar power... a home system. And yes, technology has improved majorly just in the last couple of years. Should we give up on solar power now, after all the work and effort that's been put into it? That's like giving up on a baby that's just learning to crawl... it doesn't make sense.
And one final point... you said...
"wishing isn't going to deliver. It never did, and never will."
Well, once upon a time someone wished that they could fly... then they went out and thought of a way that it could be done. Sometimes wishing is the push that you need to make something deliver the desired results. It's a dangerous thing to tell the masses that something can't be done... especially when it comes to something as important as this. If everyone were to believe that, who would be left to do the research? Who would even want to try?
NO NUCLEAR POWER. IT IS NOT THE ANSWER.
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• Wednesday 17 January 2007 - Nobody's saying to give up on renewable energy.
I'm no advocate of nuclear, but it could also be argued that giving up on it now is also defeatist, as future research MAY show it to be a safe energy source, and waste disposal problems MAY be overcome.
As an aside, we saw a number of nuclear power stations in France, as well as a number of wind farms throughout Europe. So what does that prove? Nothing really, except that someone has decided that both forms of energy are viable for them. Time alone will tell if they were right.
Good renewable energy blog.
http://www.blognow.com.au/renewableenergy/
Edited by snowy on Tuesday 16 January 2007 at 5:39 PM