Do Not Overlook Nuclear Energy in Climate Concerns

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

Date posted: 02/13/17

Isaac Orr reports that Bill McKibben, a climate activist and founder of 350.org, recently argued that Earth is rapidly warming and immediate action must be taken to reduce human-caused greenhouse-gas emissions. To do so, McKibben advocates a massive build-out of wind and solar power, but he never mentions one of the most obvious and efficient energy sources available ... nuclear. The omission is no mistake. McKibben and his environmental pals have made a concerted effort to reject nuclear energy, even though it is the only way to immediately reduce carbon-dioxide emissions, to create a stable power grid at reasonable prices. Despite massive taxpayer subsidies to wind and solar-power industries, these two sources account for just 2.2% of the total energy used in the country. Making matters worse, they are incredibly expensive. It is mostly for this reason the Renewable Now slogan is nothing more than that. It is certainly not a solution. Energy and climate realists must hold adveraries like McKibben to their own standards. If they want to be taken seriously, they must nuke up or appear to be stupid. Countries that have tried to follow McKibben advice by aggressively subsidizing wind and solar power have lived to regret it. In Germany, wind and solar subsidies are the reason Germans now pay three times more for their electricity than the average American. To add insult to injury, German greenhouse-gas emissions have actually increased since 2009, because Germany decided to begin shuttering its nuclear power plants after the Fukushima incident, where no one was hurt or irradiated. Wind and solar only generate electricity when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, and this is why Germany only obtains a miniscule 3.3% of its total energy from wind and solar. As a result, Germany must burn more dirty coal (lignite) to generate electricity, which is why the country now owns one of the most carbon-intensive energy grids in all of Europe. Read on ..