And yet it was with mortification and shock that I read the article in the “Financial Mail” published February 8, 2008. The title of this article was “Bidding War for Eskom’s R600bn Nuclear Plants”.
Having been an environmentalist for many years, I am well aware that public support for such dangerous option is not there: and yet the article clearly states a commitment to continue full steam ahead, disregarding our most basic rights. Not one, FIVE new nuclear power plants have been scheduled for development. This excludes the expansion anticipated regarding pebble bed modular reactors (cutting-edge technology using a new approach to the nuclear generation of power).
……………………………………………
We seem to in a trap. To avoid a climatic catastrophe we must accept nuclear power that with an almost unlimited supply of uranium also carries an unlimited risk of nuclear accidents. When they happen large amounts of dangerous radiation is release. If a reactor gets too hot, it melts, and, if it happened very suddenly, the effect would be comparable to that of a nuclear bomb.
……………………………..
The radioactivity released during such accidents cannot be confined to a particular area, it recognizes no geographical or political boundaries!!
……………………….
Another expensive angle to this option: uranium, plutonium and similar substances are also used to make nuclear weapons. All nuclear sites must be constantly on guard against terrorists!!
And an unexpected question put forward by the article: How much ownership of these plants would ultimately be held by South Africa?
According to Asimov’s “New Guide to Science” (1987) even in power reactors, atomic energy unleashes radioactivity on a scale that could make the entire atmosphere, the oceans, and everything we eat, drink or breath increasingly dangerous to human life.
Rising radioactivity is found in many places: in the sea, at the Poles, in the deserts and on high mountains.…….. a by-product particularly dangerous to human life is STRONTIUM 90. A brand new substance – it did not exist in the planet prior to the Nuclear Age. Today, within less of a generation, it has become incorporated in the bones of every human being, indeed, all vertebrates in earth.
…………………………………..
And how to dispose of the deadly waste that takes centuries to loose its radioactivity?
The waste is removed during re-fueling, sealed in heavy containers and stored underground or in deep-sea trenches. The offer of 50 years storage has frequently been on the table as a responsible option, even though it is difficult to guess how we are supposed to deal with the deadly material afterwards.
Granted the possibility of re-cylcing the fuel, reducing waste to 10% - as mentioned in the article – is attractive. But the waste would still remain hazardous for hundreds of years!!!
……………………….
IS THERE AN ALTERNATIVE?
Open to us is the possibility to use renewable energy sources – for example, energy produced from wood, or wind power, or water power, or using the heat of the earth’s interior, or harnessing the ocean tides. Or even a combination of them all!
Far more efficient, the possibility of using Earth’s energy income by directly tapping some of the energy pouring on its surface from the SUN; producing energy at a rate approximately 50 000 times as great as our current rate of energy consumption.
In this respect, one particularly promising device is the SOLAR BATTERY or PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL, developed by the Bell Telephone Laboratories as early as 1954. We have all seen them in wristwatches and calculators. They make use of solid-state devices to convert sunlight directly into electricity.
A few years ago, a shack dweller in Germiston shared his confusion with me at the insistence in wiring dwellings, when every appliance could easily be fitted with such battery.
Apparently the solar battery does not produce much current as compared with an ordinary chemical battery, but it has no liquids, no corrosive chemicals, no moving parts: it generates electricity with no noise and no direct pollution: IT JUST KEEPS ON GENERATING ELECTRICITY INDEFINITELY, merely by the presence of sunlight nearby.
And surely the Sun would appreciate its contribution not going to waste, in favour of dangerous or just plain inefficient alternatives.
 |
| Koeberg Nuclear Power Station (found Photo in Web) |
Here is hoping South Africa opts to move with the times, in as much as energy production is concerned. Here is hoping South Africa opts for live…
UPDATE - 28.10.2010
This blog was published October 2009; and was written about a year before that; since then it has come to my attention that Sun Cults around the world take objection to the use of solar energy to power appliances. I have not been able to research into this issue due to lack of resources; but I have decided to err in the side of caution, and respect the acient traditions of our forefathers. As I hinted in the article, there are other environmentally friendly, sustainable, free sources of energy already in use, or under scrutiny. We could and should be brainstorming for others. Also, we should be re-conceptualizing power grids, there is no need for the use of 220/240 volts, when appliances can happily run with a fraction of that. And this days of microprocessors, it is possible to get complex functionality and versatility with very little power. If nothing else, humanity is Ingenious.
UPDATE - 21.05.2011
And it finally happened ! Someone was able to explain to me the reason this type of energy is too dangerous, in a way I could grasp.
The main problem seems to be the requirement to store
solar energy for it to be use when needed - you want to use a heater when it is cold, not only when the sun is shining, and the same applies to the use of electric lights, and so on. Therefore the need for a way to store the energy, and the danger that in case of an explosion (i.e. overheating) we would be confronted with a chain reaction, and appliances in the vicinity would be affected and also blow-up.
Apparently, many years ago, this happened and an entire city ceased to be.
09:42 AM | Add a comment | Read comments (1) | Permalink | Blog it
08 February
