The earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan raised new concerns about the risk of another nuclear reactor disaster. The explosion of the FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR POWER PLANT gives our citizens cause to re-examine the risk assumed by the public. At this writing, the full extent of the damage to the plant, the community, and the environment is unknown - it will take years.
At the same time concerns over the high risks associated with extracting natural gas and as noted in a Financial Times article is "energy that comes from the same place as our drinking water. Extracting it had better be safe. The political fault lines over hydraulic fracturing (hence the term fracking) have been easy to predict for anyone paying attention to the controversies over climate change and genetically modified organisms. France’s national assembly voted to ban fracking while in the US its been full steam ahead in 32 states. These are high risk alternative energy sources.
Curated by mokiethecat
TED Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy? Brand and Jacobson |
Nuclear power: the energy crisis has even die-hard environmentalists
reconsidering it. In this first-ever TED debate, Stewart Brand and Mark
Z. Jacobson square off over the pros and cons. A discussion that'll make
you think -- and might even change your mind. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. EarthSayers Stewart Brand; Mark Jacobson |