There’s no doubt, at least in the majority of minds, that our planet is undergoing climate change; the definition of which is not really constant. Whatever the definition, it’s not a positive thing for our planet, our environment or ourselves. The culprit, sometimes wrongly, plastered all over our television screens, over the internet and in the newspapers is carbon dioxide; the dreaded CO2. As more and more of this poison builds up in our atmosphere, along with a myriad of other long double-barrelled named chemicals, our weather will become more extreme and change faster than animals and plants can adapt causing mass extinctions. Or at least that is what we are lead to believe.
To combat this foretold ending, governments around the world are investing in alternative energy sources that produce less CO2 and all that horribleness. Wind, tidal, wave, geothermal, solar and nuclear are the main power sources currently experiencing a surge.
Now, forgetting all this poison business, let’s look at our main sources of energy. Coal, oil and gas. Mucky stuff. Take one step back and just look at it. We are digging this stuff up, setting it alight and making steam to power turbines. This is all very well, but isn’t it so…. 19th Century? We’re in 2010 and we still get most of our power from black stuff we dig up from and ground and set on fire. We need to change. And change with the times, technology and environment.
Nuclear energy is touted by governments as the magical cure for our energy crisis. No carbon emissions, they say. True, but what about all that nasty nuclear waste and all the dangers associated with nuclear material? They have answers to every question you could ask. Over on TED, there is a small debate on Nuclear energy (embedded below) which is quite interesting and made me rethink my own stance on the issue. Take a look.
The scientists in the above video make some very good points both for and against Nuclear energy. It also points out we’re very uneconomical with the way we’re placing these alternative energy sources in and around our respective countries. What’s your view on Nuclear energy, climate change and alternative energy sources in general?
