The World in 2030

178 The World in 2030
nuclear campaigns whilst some individual environmentalists,
most notably James Lovelock, are now urging fellow ‘greens’
to break with tradition and endorse carbon-lite nuclear power
generation for the sake of the planet. At present the Zeitgeist
seems to be favouring nuclear power generation once again
and 31 new reactors are currently under construction around
the world. 341
As must have already become apparent in this section,
energy generation and supply is wholly politicised and
it is very difficult to get at the truth about something as
important to nation states as nuclear reactors.
Whilst it is true that nuclear power generation produces
electricity without carbon emissions, it is not true to say
that there is no environmental impact from the process.
The biggest problems are the risk of catastrophic accidents
and finding safe ways to dispose of nuclear waste. This latter
problem remains largely unresolved. Most of today’s nuclear
waste is simply stored in what is believed to be a safe manner
until a satisfactory method of disposal has been developed.
And it is also true to say that reserves of uranium on our
planet may be limited. Although no serious exploration for
new uranium deposits have been undertaken for twenty years
(because nuclear power has been so much out of favour),
current estimates suggest that if a new nuclear age were to
dawn there would only be enough uranium available for 60-
70 years of power production.
There are three other reasons why I am wary of advocating
additional nuclear power generation to help reduce the
problems of climate change. The first is that consumers don’t