Posted 4:22 PM by Robert

Build More Nuclear Plants

That's what a new Royalty Society paper says, especially if one accepts that "global warming" is being triggered by human carbon dioxide emissions:

Britain's national academy of sciences is urging the Government to end its self-imposed moratorium on the building of nuclear power stations when it publishes its Energy White Paper later this year.

The Royal Society, the UK's leading scientific body, says in a statement issued today that doing nothing on nuclear power is not an option if the Government wants to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. A failure to end its silence over nuclear power and commit itself to replacing Britain's ageing power stations will leave the Government with only two options: either it can boost fossil fuel consumption, which will result in a rise in greenhouse gases, or it can abandon nuclear power for good and opt for a massiveinvestment in renewable sources of "green" energy, the Royal Society says.

....

The UK could do better in terms of using renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar and tidal power, as well as cutting down on waste by improving energy efficiency. "However, most experts agree that the UK target of generating 10 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2010 is already very ambitious," the Royal Society says.

Current moratoria on the building of nuclear power plants are on a collision course with expanding worldwide power needs and the aging of now existing plants. This pending crisis is concealed from the public consciousness largely because existing plants continue to function. That will cease to be the case within the next ten to twenty years.

At which point the main effect of the moritoria will be that we will all get to see just how fast a large number of new nuclear power plants can be built.

Link from Mike Daley.

UPDATE: While the Royal Society is expressing its skepticism at Britain producing 10% of its electricity from renewable sources, Senator Kerry has dropped from his enironmental boilerplate his preposterous assertion that 20% of the United State's electricity could be generated from alternative and renewable energy sources by the year 2020. Perhaps one of Senator Kerry's aides pointed out to him that when one is running for president one's preposterous claims get more attention.