Nuclear Should Be in the Energy Mix for Biodiversity

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 03/23/15

Barry W. Brook and Corey J. A. Bradshaw of the University of Adelaide report that leading conservation scientists from around the world have called for a substantial role for nuclear power in future energy-generating scenarios in order to mitigate climate change and protect biodiversity. In an open letter to environmentalists with more than 60 signatories, the scientists ask the environmental community to weigh up the pros and cons of different energy sources using objective evidence and pragmatic trade-offs, rather than simply relying on idealistic perceptions of what is green. Organized by ecologists, the letter supports their recent article Key role for nuclear energy in global biodiversity conservation, published in the journal Conservation Biology. Full decarbonization of the global electricity-generation sector is required soon to avoid the worst ravages of climate change, says Professor Bradshaw, Director, Ecological Modelling at the Environment Institute and recently appointed Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change.