Nuclear Roundup 11/17/13
If you are worried about CO2 (I’m not), then you should be pro-nuke (I am).
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Japan
Japan slashes climate reduction target amid nuclear shutdown
Japan had previously pledged to reduce its CO2 emissions to 25% below its 1990 levels in a (misguided) bid to battle global warming. Now it is likely that there will be no reduction below the 1990 level because they have pulled back from nuclear power and have re-embraced fossil fuels
According to BBC Asia, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said ”Our government has been saying… that the 25% reduction target was totally unfounded and wasn’t feasible.” Japan’s chief negotiator at UN climate change talks in Warsaw, Hiroshi Minami, said ”The new target is based on zero nuclear power in the future. We have to lower our ambition level.”
BBC Asia points out…
Since the Fukushima disaster, Japan has been forced to import huge amounts of coal, liquid natural gas and other fuels.
“Given that none of the nuclear reactors is operating, this was unavoidable,” Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara said.
Japan’s 50 nuclear plants were closed on safety concerns after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima reactors northeast of Tokyo. Nuclear accounted for 26 percent of Japan’s electricity generation and its loss has forced the country to import natural gas and coal, causing its greenhouse gas emissions to skyrocket.
Natural-gas consumption by Japan’s 10 utilities was up 8.4 percent in October from a year earlier and coal use was up 4.4 percent as the companies used more fossil fuels to compensate for the nuclear shutdown, industry data showed on Friday.
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United States
As nuclear is shut down in California, CO2 emissions rise.
Greenhouse-gas emissions from power generators, oil refineries and other plants in California climbed in 2012 as a nuclear plant shutdown and low hydropower supplies increased the state’s reliance on natural gas.
Power-plant releases rose 35 percent to 41.6 million metric tons last year, according to data posted today on the state Air Resources Board’s website. Total emissions were 437.8 million metric tons, up from 429.3 million in 2011. Edison International (EIX) shut the San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California in January 2012, and the state that year faced one of the lowest snowpack levels on record.
“The rise in total emissions is primarily due to emission increases from California electricity generation using natural gas as a fuel,” the board said. “The majority of this additional natural-gas electricity generation is due to a decrease in available hydroelectric generation for 2012 and a reduction in nuclear generated power.”
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Movie – Pandora’s Promise
This is a documentary featuring prominent environmentalists that are pro-nuclear. It is soon to be released by Netflix
Netflix description…
Former antinuclear activists and groundbreaking scientists speak out in favor of the much-maligned energy source in this provocative documentary that explores the history and future of nuclear power.
