Green Party Claim Nuclear Agenda is Deplorable

28/11/2005

News that the Government may be ready to give the go-ahead to a new generation of nuclear power stations has today been deemed deplorable by Green Party Principal Speaker Keith Taylor. Rising carbon emissions must be tackled in a sustainable and safe way; nuclear power cannot do this. Renewable energy and energy conservation however offer low pollution long-term employment and lower greenhouse gas emissions.Yet Tony Blair seems intent on taking the dirty and dangerous route that is nuclear power. This is a deplorable move. Britain has been generating radioactive waste for over 50 years yet no progress has been made on how to dispose of it. Current strategies for dealing with waste are unreliable unsafe and ruinously expensive.It is also misleading to suggest that nuclear power is in any way carbon neutral - to generate electricity from uranium a complex chain of industrial processes is needed: to convert uranium ore in the ground into fuel elements for the reactor; to construct the facilities including the nuclear power plant itself; and to handle and store waste safely.The nuclear dream is over. But the clean energy future is just beginning.Surely it's time Blair recognised the folly of following the nuclear power route and realised the vital role renewable energy sources such as wind and wave can play in tackling climate change?
Back to Index