2005-12-18

Energy, now and in the future

While the US government is, slowly, admitting that energy preservation is necessary and setting up a program for youths, called Energy Hog, to make them aware about the use and waste of energy, in Holland they are now suggesting that nuclear energy is the way of the future. Mr Lubbers, who is chairman of the board of control of the Petten Energy Research Centre, claims that nuclear reactors have become safer and that nuclear waste is more and more recycled. "From a technological viewpoint we are ready for it", he states.

Greenpeace doesn't concur, and rightly so in my opinion. There's still no fail safe way to operate a nuclear plant, the risks of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are still very real, the consequenses of a meltdown or (near-)disaster are immense, nuclear waste remains highly radioactive for a 1000 year or more, safely disposing of nuclear waste is extremely expensive, and the risk that highly radioactive nuclear waste ends up in terrorist hands is slim but still there.

A real solution to the demand for energy would be the use of renewable and clean energy sources. None of these sources, like wind energy, solar energy, energy from biomass, etc., will provide the answer but combined they can, must and will. Combine these sources with preservation of energy use in cars, factories and buildings and we could soon be much less dependent on fossil fuels.


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