General

Nuclear power won't cure climate change: Finnish PM

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:34pm GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Building more nuclear power plants to reduce global warming emissions is not the way to fight global climate change, Finland's prime minister said on Monday.

Many energy experts say one key to cutting back carbon dioxide emissions that heat the Earth's atmosphere would be to rely more on nuclear power to generate electricity instead of coal-fired plants

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How the nuclear industry lost its power

Monday, January 14, 2008

Nuclear power is back on the agenda in Britain. If more nuclear stations are ordered, which is far from certain, it will mark a fresh start for an industry in which Britain once hoped to lead the world, but which was crippled by a series of misjudgments on the part of politicians, managers and investors.

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Cutting Edge: The Nuclear Comeback

Monday, January 14, 2008

There is no shortage of documentaries reminding us that peak oil has been reached - and passed. Demand is rising and so, too, inevitably, are prices. What happens when money alone isn't enough to secure a barrel of the action? Is nuclear energy the short-term solution?

Proponents say it's clean and safe. Governments, prone to hard pragmatism, are beginning to bend towards a technology that may provide breathing space inasmuch as there is negligible carbon emissions from nuclear energy production - just a lot of unpleasant material that can last for a bloody long time.

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With Nuclear Rebirth Come New Worries

Sunday, January 13, 2008

By GEORGE JAHN, The Associated Press

VIENNA, Austria -- Global warming and rocketing oil prices are making nuclear power fashionable, drawing a once demonized industry out of the shadows of the Chernobyl disaster as a potential shining knight of clean energy.

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New generation of nuclear reactors promises ‘greener and safer’ energy

Friday, January 11, 2008

Mark Henderson, Science Editor

Energy companies building the next generation of nuclear power stations will choose between four models, the manufacturers of which have already applied to have their designs approved for use in Britain.

The four reactor types were all accepted into a “prelicensing process” in July. This will assess their safety and efficiency before any orders are placed or sites chosen.

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Presenting nuclear as the grown-up option is deceptive and delaying

Friday, January 11, 2008

Faced with persistent cabinet and industry lobbying and professors bearing heavy statistics, MPs have simply caved in

Polly Toynbee, Friday January 11, 2008 The Guardian

Marking the new political year, Gordon Brown promised to take "the difficult long-term decisions, even if at times it may be easier to do simpler or less difficult things". Going nuclear is a big decision and a difficult one, but that doesn't necessarily make it the right one.

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France shows the nuclear way

Friday, January 11, 2008

By Peggy Hollinger in Paris

When Anne Lauvergeon took over France's nuclear group Cogema in 1999, one of her first acts was to install cameras in the fuel and waste treatment chambers of La Hague, France's highly sensitive reprocessing site on the north coast.

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Britain's decision on nuclear power could give new hope to industry

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

By James Kanter
Tuesday, January 8, 2008

PARIS: The British government is expected to introduce plans this week for a series of new nuclear reactors - a move that energy experts say could light a beacon for the beleaguered nuclear industry in other parts of Europe, where opposition to the technology remains strong.

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British nuclear power consultation flawed: report

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Thu Jan 3, 2008 7:34pm EST

By Jeremy Lovell

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government's public consultation last year on the need for new nuclear power plants to tackle climate change and bridge the looming energy gap was flawed and misleading, a group of academics said on Friday.

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Government to go ahead with nuclear stations

Monday, December 31, 2007

By Andrew Porter

The next generation of nuclear power stations is set to be given the go-ahead by the Government next week despite fierce opposition from environmentalists and MPs.

Following months of delays over a legal challenge, John Hutton, the Business Secretary, is expected to tell MPs that a new era of nuclear power can begin.

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