Clean Energy: Germany Gets It
Here’s an article about Germany, and the incredible work they’ve done to replace their fossil fuel-based energy consumption with renewables. There, the clean energy movement, Energiewende, (“energy transformation”) estimates that at least 80 percent, perhaps 100%, of Germany’s electricity will come from renewable sources by 2050.
So, are Germans leftists who don’t understand math? I was a BMW driver most of my life; I don’t think so. But, as Europeans, they tend to see the world through a completely different lens than Americans. They don’t put stock in arguments from TV weathermen and pastry chefs who deny climate change, and they, as one of the most prosperous countries on the planet, don’t argue that clean energy would kill their economy, since their experience has demonstrated the precise opposite.
Since deciding to eschew nuclear power and taking some nuclear power plants out or service, Germany has increased its use of fossil fuels and its CO2 emissions.
http://thebreakthrough.org/archive/germany_returns_to_coal
And here is information on alternative nuclear power systems that are safer than our current systems and which generate far less waste:
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/intelligent-energy/fukushimas-lesson-8216alternative-nuclear-not-8216no-nuclear/13857?tag=mantle_skin;content
Imo, the best discussions on nuclear are from the world view. The USA has become quite arbitrary in its thinking and regulation, being driven almost exclusively by the politics.
There is no question that when it comes to nuclear, any event beyond a level 2 or perhaps 3 incident is too many. That does not mean nuclear is untenable. It simply means regulation needs to directly reflect the science and engineering. Yes, that’s an “in a perfect world” kind of statement.
No doubt, a number of us have already heard the argument that our system is incapable of being that unbiased, and for that reason alone nuclear is untenable. Amongst rational people, there are no binary answers to that kind of proposition. The various types of TWR reactors show promise, but then I’ll say again, there is nothing straight forward about an energy source that can take out several hundred square miles of habitability in a single event.
I am troubled by the fact that one of the countries most able to navigate the complexities of “safe” nuclear, is one of the countries that has disavowed that resource. Clearly, Germans have their own politics as well. So, is there anyone out there who is sufficiently “adult” to do nuclear correctly? Seems like that’s what it comes down to.
For myself, the most interesting question on nuclear is whether it will become a court of last resort to humanity when we find ourselves backed against the wall due to our dithering.