This article, of the above name in "Watts Up With That?" shows just how much the global hysteria over nuclear power has contributed to the rise in Carbon Dioxide emissions over the past few years. In all counties, emissions due to power generation rose steadily through the last century, dropping briefly in the late '70s with the introduction of some nuclear power stations, but, once building stopped, they then continued in an inexorable rise until the present.
This is shown in graphical form for the US, along with what might have been had the planned nuclear power stations been built, in which case the current overall generation emissions would by now have been equivalent to those of the mid-'50s.
France is the only country to buck the trend, with their present power generation emissions being roughly the same as in the late '60's, and falling. I assume that I don't have to explain why!
It is interesting to note that with both India and China proposing to follow the nuclear route, and it is predicted that their emissions will show a similar trend to those of France in due course.
Incidentally, China is likely to build Thorium reactors, which are considered safer in that they do not produce the radioactive waste of the current Uranium reactors.
It would be the final indignity and sign of this country's total decline as an industrial power if we allowed China to become the world experts on the subject and we had to buy our reactors from them!
If Clegg feels that the present nuclear reactors are unsafe, why doesn't he advocate urgent research into Thorium reactors. We already have knowledge and expertise in this country, what is not available is money. Far better to spend money on studying a potentially very safe method of generating "green" electricity than wasting our money on windmills or even high speed rail links!
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