Rich World, Poor World by Lean Geoffrey;

Author:Lean, Geoffrey;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group

* * *

*In fact the ‘greenhouse effect’ seems to work better in the atmosphere than in greenhouses. The main reason for the warming up of greenhouses, it is suggested, is the restriction of ventilation.

*For the reasons for this see below, Chapter 12,

*Estimating the size of reserves is difficult; but techniques have been evolved for making an informed guess of even undiscovered reserves.

Chapter 10

Faustian Bargain?

The debate on whether or not we should commit ourselves to a full-scale programme of nuclear fission arouses a great deal of public concern and passion. Both sides have their scaremongers, but both also attract the commitment of hundreds of dedicated, sincere and able people. While one side includes the leaders of the atomic energy industry, the other includes atomic scientists of comparable distinction—among them pioneers of nuclear power. The argument ranges over highly complex technical data in several disciplines, but it ultimately boils down to issues of policy and priorities that can be, and must be, tackled by the public at large.

One side argues that our high-energy civilisation depends on nuclear power. A full programme, moving on to the fast breeder reactors, could, it is said, keep our use of energy growing and growing for centuries after the oil runs dry. Nuclear power, its supporters add, is already the cheapest known way of producing electricity. There are, they admit, unique safety problems, but these will be solved in time. Meanwhile the atomic industry has an excellent safety record. So these worries must not stand in the way of our using such a vast new source of energy. Failure to develop nuclear power will lead to greater dangers for society than the risks of doing so; for if we do not use it, they say, we will not be able to produce the energy that people need.

It is an understandable and sincere argument—particularly since it comes from a nuclear industry which was concerned with some of the safety problems long before they were widely publicised, and which is anxious to avoid another period of demoralisation like the one it suffered in the days of cheap oil. It is the argument accepted by the governments of nearly all rich countries. Between them they are prepared to spend thousands of millions of pounds on their programmes.

The opponents of nuclear power turn this argument on its head. The dangers of this new form of energy, they say, imperil both our civilisation and the future of the world. Such problems as the disposal of highly toxic wastes and the prevention of nuclear terrorism and proliferation may well be insoluble. Nobody knows about the long-term effects of accidental releases, or about the inevitable low doses of radiation. In such a situation it is extremely irresponsible to go ahead with a large programme of nuclear power, which in any case cannot achieve all that is claimed for it, and certainly not at the hoped-for speed. It would be much better, and much less disruptive in the end, to cut back our energy growth

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