Nuclear power option "deplorable"
22 November 2005
News that the Government may be ready to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations, has today been deemed "deplorable" by Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor:
"The nuclear power industry has failed us. Instead of providing cheap,clean energy it has cost the taxpayer millions in subsidies as well ascausing concern over safety, pollution and the threat of a terrorist attack.
"Rising carbon emissions must be tackled in a sustainable and safe way;nuclear power cannot do this. Renewable energy and energy conservation,however, offer low pollution, long-term employment and lower greenhouse gasemissions.
"Yet Tony Blair seems intent on taking the dirty and dangerous route that isnuclear power. This is a deplorable move. Britain has been generatingradioactive waste for over 50 years, yet no progress has been made on how todispose of it. Current strategies for dealing with waste are unreliable,unsafe and ruinously expensive.
"It is also misleading to suggest that nuclear power is in any way carbonneutral - to generate electricity from uranium, a complex chain ofindustrial processes is needed: to convert uranium ore in the ground intofuel elements for the reactor; to construct the facilities including thenuclear power plant itself; and to handle and store waste safely. All these processes produce substantial amounts of carbon dioxide.
"The nuclear dream is over. But the clean energy future is just beginning.Surely it's time Blair recognised the folly of following the nuclear powerroute, and realised the vital role renewable energy sources such as wind andwave, can play in tackling climate change?"
