In Search of the Pope’s Children

This RTE show, presented by David McWilliams, is incredibly well put together; I’d highly recommend watching it next week.

The only thing I’d fundamentally disagree with is McWilliams’ suggestion that nuclear power might be ok for Ireland, when of course it’s not ok for anywhere.

Waste David, waste, waste, waste. When you come up with a solution to the waste problem, feel free to try again.

2 Responses

  1. When you look at the global warming issue, and the possibility of rising sea levels, then Nuclear becomes a possibility. Nuclear in France is done correctly (so far so good at any rate). But in the UK Nuclear is completely mismanaged with a terrible safety record. (recently the Euro Atomic Agency fined British Nuclear Fuels for yet another leak in the North East of England).
    Renewable energy will supply massive amounts of energy, and it makes perfect sense. But there is inadequate political will to make it happen, on the scale that it needs to happen. (I give Ireland, and the UK as prime examples, though Germany and Portugual are examples where political will does exist, to push for renewable energy).
    But even when renewable energy is working, there will be times when there is not enough energy to power the grid at peak times. We can use Fossil Fuels for this. But even using Fossil Fuels might not be an option in the future.

    I think David is right to bring up the issue of Nuclear.
    And the original poster, was correct to ask questions about waste. Maybe something could be done at EU level to ensure all manufactured products after 2010 in all industries are recylceable.

    We also need manufacturing to be design products that are easy to disassemble for recyling. This is a real, practical problem that nobody is raising. Please press for this also. Because aside from the energy issue, we have a material resource issue in the world. There is enough paper money to care for everybody’s material welfare, but insufficient material, because so much is continually being wasted/dumped/burned.

  2. I don’t see the point in discussion nuclear power at any level until the issue of waste can be solved; and to be honest, I don’t think it can be solved. Nuclear waste remains harmful for thousands of years, burying it in a hole in the ground is just handing the problem off to future generations. We’ve already fucked up the planet for future generations, haven’t we done enough as it is? Particularly in Ireland, a country literally surrounded by water, and wind?