These are just some of the questions posed in the 2013 CNN documentary 'Pandora's Promise'.
Looking back, I see that Greenrock posed similar questions about nuclear energy for Bermuda back in 2008.
Impact Partners presents PANDORA'S PROMISE, the groundbreaking new film by Academy-Award®-nominated director Robert Stone. The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we've got nuclear power wrong? An audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, PANDORA'S PROMISE asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty. In his controversial new film, Stone tells the intensely personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process. Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavy weights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger. Undaunted and fearlessly independent, PANDORA'S PROMISE is a landmark work that is forever changing the conversation about the myths and science behind this deeply emotional and polarizing issue.
Watch the official trailer below or at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDw3ET3zqxk
Watch in full on Netflix or iTunes.
The Bermuda Government's 2011 Energy White Paper outlined their position on nuclear energy as follows;
4.2.4 NuclearThe Government does not support the development of a nuclear fission power plant in Bermuda at this time. One of the principle reasons, presuming that Bermuda would not dispose of nuclear waste locally, is that moving toward nuclear fission reactors as a source of power would create new reliances upon other countries to provide nuclear fuel and accept nuclear waste. As the world attempts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is likely that the use of nuclear power will increase, therefore stable nuclear fuel prices and continued availability are not guaranteed. Additionally, key ores used to produce uranium and other materials used to power nuclear fission reactors are finite and will experience similar supply peaks to oil in the future. Another important consideration is the regulatory environment that would be required for the safe operation of a nuclear power facility in Bermuda. This would require significant time and resources to develop in a satisfactory manner, which would draw attention away from other fundamental regulatory matters that must be addressed. Regardless of these issues, the disposal of nuclear waste appears to remain a persistant issue in other jurisdictions, with the majority of waste temporarily stored at power plants in steel and concrete containers until permanent geological repositories are developed. The Government does not wish to encourage the creation of nuclear waste which future generations must inevitably be responsible for, whether in Bermuda or overseas. |
It's important to note that while this position statement excludes the possibility of Bermuda using nuclear fission technologies it does not directly address or discount the possibility of using emerging, safer and more eco-friendly nuclear fusion technologies.
Fission versus Fusion - What's the Difference?
No exploration of nuclear energy would be complete without addressing the difference between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. Fission is is the splitting of a large atom into two or more smaller ones and is the process used in atomic bombs and traditional nuclear power plants. Fusion is the fusing of two or more lighter atoms into a larger one and is an experimental technology for producing power [1] For example, cold fusion, also known as LENR.
Advantages of fusion over fission
In case of fusion reactions, fusion reactors cannot sustain a chain reaction so they can never melt down like fission reactors. Fusion reaction produces very much less or, if the right atoms are chosen, no radioactive waste. In case of nuclear fission large radioactive waste is produced and disposal of radioactive waste is a complicated problem.
For nuclear power, fusion is the better choice.
According to business magazine Forbes, The U.S. Department of Energy included low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) —which NASA scientists have said could fuel home nuclear reactors—among other representative technologies in a $10 million funding opportunity it announced last fall.[2] "It has the demonstrated ability to produce excess amounts of energy, cleanly, without hazardous ionizing radiation, without producing nasty waste,” said Joseph Zawodny, a senior research scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center.
