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Germany pledges to end all nuclear power by 2022

Discussion in 'Politics, Religion and Ethics' started by Micawber, May 30, 2011.

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  1. Micawber
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    Micawber Renowned Lifetime Member

    Germany's ruling coalition says it has agreed a date of 2022 for the shutdown of all of its nuclear power plants.

    Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement after a meeting of the ruling coalition that lasted into the early hours of Monday.

    Chancellor Angela Merkel had set up an ethics panel to look into nuclear power following the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan.

    Germany saw mass anti-nuclear protests in the wake of the disaster

    Read more here:-
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13592208
    Micawber, May 30, 2011
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  2. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Yes and Poland are building some new ones and the French are not about to give up nuclear any time soon so they are still surrounded on all sides by the big scary nuclear monster :D

    Coal has killed far more people than nuclear ever has, people are simply irrational about radiation because the whole thing is mixed up in their heads with bombs and the end of the world.

    I wonder how many of them know that a giant nuclear fission reactor at the centre of the earth effectively generates the heat that runs the dynamo that keeps the Earth's magnetic field in place, that same magnetic field that protects us from the giant hydrogen bomb in the sky, that self same giant hydrogen bomb that provides the light to grow our crops and keeps us all alive.

    [sarcasm on]
    I know, lets switch off all the power stations both coal and nuclear, lets switch the lights off, turn off our freezers, fridges and washing machines, lets turn off the pumps that clear out our sewage systems lets all get horses to replace our cars and lorries.

    Lets all just go back to the stone age and see how long most of us survive, a couple of weeks I would guess maybe a month or so.
    [/sarcasm off]

    What fraction of people actually have any idea of the staggering amount of energy we need to run our so called civilised world.

    For years and years I have been depressed about the upcoming energy crisis (and it is coming) the only thing that has recently given me some cause for hope and optimism is something I remember reading about 40 years ago as a kid but I had forgotten all about it until it hit the news again recently, what is it, nuclear power from Thorium instead of Uranium.

    Thorium is abundant cheap and compared to Uranium based technologies much simpler and safer, if we are lucky it will get developed, the countries that adopt it will thrive, those that don't, well the stone age is always an option.
    oss, May 30, 2011
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  3. Micawber
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    Micawber Renowned Lifetime Member

    Somewhat strange decision that was allegedly made on a technical basis. Especially as the costs of energy generation without Nuclear are unknown as yet.

    I would suspect that other countries will be keen to see just how the cost of non-nuclear energy generation stacks up.

    I do hope Germany will not resort the hypocrital position of purchasing their power needs from other countries nuclear generation. Certainly France, Czech Republic and Poland will be now be thinking that their own nuclear generation plans can include electricty sales to Germany.

    Just now it seems that gas-fired power stations will be replacing nuclear. This will of course result in a significant increase in CO2 output.

    In principle I favour the nuclear route, but I really want to see some new and useful work done on just how to deal with the radioactive waste.

    I have no idea how to balance either. Increased CO2 or highly dangerous radioactive waste.
    What a dreadful position we are in.
    Micawber, May 30, 2011
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  4. guenther
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    guenther Member

    Mmh, the former government coalition already pledged to go out of Nuc power, so its now really a 'new" idea. ore like Angela in despair again. ;)

    this has been solved somewhat 20 years ago, they turn the exhaust into "gypsum" boards.

    Now in general, Germany has probably the most progressive stand on alternative energies worldwide, it even got it in the constitution now.
    As it seems, it will be the first nation running almost entirely on renewable or very clean energies in the future ( in our lifetime !), IF all efforts are not destroyed by political opponents for the sake of a "power game" and run empty in senseless debates such as they do in the USA in the "Obamacare".

    The price is high, very high, but so was the effort of cleaning rivers and replanting the forests in the 70ties. However, it is not impossible at all, and in the end everybody wins. And certainly more admirable then raging wars for whatever reason just to get to the last resources on this planet.

    Bottomline, its possible !

    Wish them luck and support it. :like:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_Germany
    Last edited: May 31, 2011
    guenther, May 31, 2011
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  5. Micawber
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    Micawber Renowned Lifetime Member

    I have no problem one way or the other on the generation of energy. As I said there are issues still to be solved and balanced all round.
    Any country who makes sensible future strategies certainly deserves to be sensibly supported.

    Germany states it has made the decision on technical grounds.
    Micawber, May 31, 2011
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  6. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    What people forget is that the current electricity generation requirement does not account for transport and transport is a huge part of our total energy use, so without nuclear they have no chance of getting independence from fossil fuels, in other words a switch over to electric transport simply won't happen.

    Also build enough wind farms and you will be on the law of diminishing returns there has been plenty of research done that shows you can only take so much energy out of the atmosphere before you affect the weather and the generation capacity you will get from your wind farms.
    oss, May 31, 2011
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