The following note has been circulating on the net today:
Gorbachev on Nuclear Power vs Renewables
"Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges," says former Russian President M. Gorbachev.
"You don't actually solve problems by finding solutions that create more problems down the track. It doesn't add up economically, environmentally or socially. Of all the energy options, nuclear is the most capital intensive to establish, decommissioning is prohibitively expensive and the financial burden continues long after the plant is closed."
"In the U.S., for example, direct subsidies to nuclear energy amounted to $115 billion between 1947 and 1999 with a further $145 billion in indirect subsidies. In contrast, subsidies to wind and solar combined during the same period totaled only $5.5 billion."
An extract from his press release, commemorating Chernobyl 20 years on, in which he beseeches the leaders of the G8 to show some spine, and support solar energy with a global fund of $50 billion USD.
Source: Green Cross International
and Tom Robertson. moderator of the EnergyResources list says:
"....and what Gorbachev is saying above is pretty much what Energy Returned on Energy Invested (ERoEI)analysis of nuclear power learned more then twenty-five years ago, where one of the best studies showed it had a 2.7 to 1 EROEI even without looking at the back end of the fuel cycle, accidents, and long term waste storage."
...and now, as if the nuclear industry didn't have enough of an image problem, BBC Monitoring reports that the former Russian atomic power minister has been charged with fraud.
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