Green Nukes?

Asia’s green energy approach may actually have a soft blue glow.

Experts at a recent alternative energy confab in Manila are pushing nuclear energy as an important option for the rapidly growing region, according to this article.

It’s better than coal or oil, they say, and delivers more power than any existing alternative sources. India, for example, is planning to quintuple its nuclear capacity, from about 4,000 megawatts now to 20,000 megawatts in the next decade, and is getting technology and resources from the United States.

China, too, is developing more nuclear plants as part of a push to diversify its power-production capabilities. The country currently derives 70 percent of its energy from coal, while alternative sources and nuclear plants contribute less than 10%.

"Developing Asian countries whether they like it or not should take a look at nuclear power as a source of energy," Piyasvasti Amranand, a former Thai energy minister and now chief advisor for a Bangkok lobbyist group Energy for Environment Foundation, said at the conference.

It may sound like heresy, but I’ve got mixed feelings about nuclear power. I know the waste is a huge issue, and the potential impact of a major malfunction is huge (Chernobyl, anyone?).

But it’s a lot cleaner than burning coal or oil, and the technology is proven and effective. Switching from fossil fuels to renewables like wind or solar is the goal, right? But that won’t happen overnight. Does it make environmental sense to push for more nuclear energy as a way to wean ourselves from oil and (hopefully) slow down global warming?

I’m not sure where I stand on this one, but I’m willing to entertain arguments for either position.