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Those who grew up during the years of the Cold War will probably never forget the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, a time when two superpowers came perilously close to unleashing all-out nuclear war. Several of John Kennedy's generals were purportedly advising an attack at least on Cuba, if not on Russia itself. Kruschev was likely receiving similarly bellicose advice from some of his advisors. The fact that these two men took the decision to stand down brought the world back from the precipice.
Economic/Business Case for the Pyroprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF)
While many still claim that conservation together with wind and solar will solve the world’s energy problems, they are dead wrong. Nuclear power is the only proven alternative source of carbon-free energy that can be developed rapidly enough and to sufficient scale to meet the world’s growing need for energy. This report outlines the actions which must be taken; both to reduce the amount of troublesome nuclear waste called Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and simultaneously create the fuel needed by Fast Reactors. The authors are certain the use of Pyroprocessing to close the nuclear fuel cycle, and Fast Reactors, particularly in the form of Integral Fast Reactor (IFRs), are inevitable in a fossil fuel-free world.
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Donations Matched to $10,000
A generous supporter has offered to match any donations to SCGI up to $10,000.
We've managed to keep our expenses minimal up to now, but we'd like to organize an international IFR conference that we hope will grow out of our work with Russia, the UK, and the World Energy Forum's October energy conference in Dubai.
The IFR will have the nuclear program's focus there in front of many heads of state and other policymakers. It's being sponsored by the Emir of Dubai and the UN/World Bank-affiliated World Energy Forum.
So if you or a friend would like to encourage a world-changing effort and get a tax write-off in the process (we are a 501(c)(3) public charitable organization), this is a great opportunity.
You can donate through PayPal
or by mailing a check payable to SCGI to:
Ron Gester, Treasurer SCGI P.O. Box 596 Boonville, CA 95415
Posted in The Guardian by George Monbiot, Thursday 2 February 2012 07.58 EST
Opponents of nuclear power who shout down suggestions of how to use spent waste as fuel will not make the problem disappear.
A mixed oxide (Mox) plant at Sellafield in Cumbria, which opened in 2011. Photograph: PA
Duncan Clark's article in the Guardian today should cause even the most determined anti-nuclear campaigner to think long and hard about the choices that confront us. He reveals that Prof David MacKay, chief scientific adviser to the UK government's energy department and author of Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air, has endorsed a remarkable estimate. The UK's stockpile of nuclear waste could be used to generate enough low-carbon energy to run this country for 500 years.
If the material we have seen until now as waste is instead seen as fuel, it has the potential to solve three problems at once: the UK's contribution to climate change, possible future energy shortfalls and a significant component of the massive bill - and massive headache - associated with cleaning up the current nuclear mess.
We need to talk about Sellafield, and a nuclear solution that ticks all our boxes
There are reactors which can convert radioactive waste to energy. Greens should look to science, rather than superstition.
George Monbiot
guardian.co.uk, Monday 5 December 2011
It's a devastating admission to have to make, especially during the climate talks in Durban. But there would be no point in writing this column if I were not prepared to confront harsh truths. This year, the environmental movement to which I belong has done more harm to the planet's living systems than climate change deniers have ever achieved.
As a result of shutting down its nuclear programme in response to green demands, Germany will produce an extra 300m tonnes of carbon dioxide between now and 2020. That's almost as much as all the European savings resulting from the energy efficiency directive. Other countries are now heading the same way. These decisions are the result of an almost medievel misrepresentation of science and technology. For while the greens are right about most things, our views on nuclear power have been shaped by weapons-grade woo.
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While many still claim that conservation together with wind and solar will solve the world’s energy problems, they are dead wrong. Nuclear power is the only proven alternative source of carbon-free energy that can be developed rapidly enough and to sufficient scale to meet the world’s growing need for energy. This report outlines the actions which must be taken; both to reduce the amount of troublesome nuclear waste called Spent Nuclear Fuel (SNF) and simultaneously create the fuel needed by Fast Reactors. The authors are certain the use of Pyroprocessing to close the nuclear fuel cycle, and Fast Reactors, particularly in the form of Integral Fast Reactor (IFRs), are inevitable in a fossil fuel-free world.
There are reactors which can convert radioactive waste to energy. Greens should look to science, rather than superstition.