Intelligent thought needs huge expansion

Keith's just pointed out a BBC story Nuclear needs 'huge expansion', where one John Ritch, director-general of the World Nuclear Association says that the world needs a 20 fold expansion in the use of nuclear power in order to prevent climate change.

The article is pretty even handed and it's interesting to see the peak uranium theory getting a BBC airing. I can't see much confidence in the "positive" view put forward in the piece by the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency, which suggests that there is 85 years-worth of uranium in the ground at "current rates of use" and pays no attention to the energy cost of the nuclear cycle. Looking at fossil fuels has taught us that there becomes a point when the EROEI makes further extraction of an energy source counter-productive. This point is covered in the piece by comment from David Fleming.

I've touched on the relations between nuclear power and nuclear weapons here (and here) before, and its good to see that Friends of the Earth are given space to mention this in the article.

In a week that's seen confirmation of North Korea's nuclear test, Sellafield nuclear processing plant being fined for a leak of 83,000 litres of acid containing 20 tonnes of uranium and 160kg of plutonium, and the discovery of cracks in several UK nuclear power stations - one wonders how the insanity of nuclear energy still holds forth. Also bear in mind that this is just the stuff we're told about, the UK nuclear industry is notorious for its use of 25 year rule, d-notices etc. to hide its biggest fuck ups.