What Will Work: Fighting Climate Change with Renewable Energy, Not Nuclear
Power
Kristin Shrader-Frechette
Abstract
This book uses market data, scientific studies, and ethical analyses to show why we should pursue green energy and conservation, and not nuclear fission, to address global climate change. It also uncovers why the many problems with atomic power, and the many benefits of green energy and conservation, have been concealed from the public. Chapter 1 reveals how flawed science, poor ethics, short-term thinking, and special-interest influence have contributed to poor energy policies; to the failure to ad ... More
This book uses market data, scientific studies, and ethical analyses to show why we should pursue green energy and conservation, and not nuclear fission, to address global climate change. It also uncovers why the many problems with atomic power, and the many benefits of green energy and conservation, have been concealed from the public. Chapter 1 reveals how flawed science, poor ethics, short-term thinking, and special-interest influence have contributed to poor energy policies; to the failure to address climate change; and to subsidizing market failures, like nuclear energy. The chapter explains the reality of human-caused global climate change, and it shows that virtually all expert-scientific analyses accept this reality. It also refutes the arguments of climate-change skeptics, who are often influenced by fossil-fuel special interests. Chapter 2 shows that nuclear energy is routinely misrepresented as “green” and “carbon free” because its proponents rely on counterfactual assumptions in calculating greenhouse-gas emissions. They ignore the greenhouse-gas emissions resulting from the 14-stage nuclear-fuel cycle, though when accounted for, these emissions are about the same as those from natural gas. Chapter 3 dispels the notion that nuclear energy is inexpensive and economical, especially when compared to wind and solar photovoltaics (solar PV). It shows how both taxpayer subsidies and government-mandated liability limits impose unfair nuclear costs on the public. It also reveals how erroneous assumptions about nuclear-construction-interest rates, load factors, and construction times lead to inaccurate assessments of nuclear costs—which are many times higher than the nuclear industry and government admit. Chapter 4 highlights the industry cover-ups, scientific misrepresentations, and violations of conflict-of-interest guidelines that have contributed to flawed atomic-energy-accident data. These flawed data grossly underestimate harmful nuclear consequences and mislead the public about the severity of radiation-related accidents. Chapter 5 shows how even normally operating fission power causes serious, pollution-induced health effects, such as cancer, that are disproportionately imposed on children, radiation workers, and future generations. Chapter 6 uses classic scientific studies from Harvard, Princeton, and the US Department of Energy to show how improved conservation and energy efficiency—along with increased use of wind and solar-PV power—can supply all energy needs while costing less than either fossil fuels or nuclear fission. Chapter 7 responds to many objections, such as the apparent success of the French nuclear-energy program, the intermittency of some renewable-energy technologies, and the alleged costs of renewable energy. It shows how these objections are invalid and that nuclear-industry PR has misled the public about the truth that efficiencies and renewable energy emit less greenhouse gases and are cheaper, safer, and more ethical than atomic power. Chapter 8 concludes by recommending some ways to promote cheaper, safer, more ethical, and less-carbon-intensive renewables, conservation, and energy efficiencies.
Keywords:
energy efficiencies,
renewable energy,
nuclear fission,
clean coal,
climate change,
nuclear power,
greenhouse gas emissions,
energy policy,
energy ethics
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199794638 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2012 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199794638.001.0001 |
