Now nuclear power is even good for your health: "Despite the problems ... - Inform to resist

Into The study Prevented Mortality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Historical and Projected Nuclear Power, in spite of present theories and data known and repeatedly refuted (or perhaps because of it) , seems intended to argue a lot. Pushker Kharecha and James Hansen, two researchers at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute, writes in Environmental Science & Technology of the American Chemical Society that “In the aftermath of the incident in March 2011 at the Japanese nuclear power plant Fukushima Daiichi, the future contribution of nuclear energy to the global energy supply has become a little ‘uncertain’.

Into But Kharecha and Hansen openly declare immediately their pro-nuclearism: “Seeing that nuclear energy is an abundant source of low-carbon energy base load, it could make a great contribution to the mitigation of global climate change and pollution atmospheric. ” From here, that is a matter of “zero emissions” by the nuclear repeatedly denied, data on the life cycle of nuclear power plants in hand, from studies of other scientists and environmental groups, the two researchers write: “Using the historical production data, we calculated that the global nuclear energy has prevented an average of 1.84 million deaths related to air pollution and 64 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent (Gt CO2-eq) greenhouse gas (GHG ), which would have resulted from the burning of fossil fuels. “

Into With these figures the problems of nuclear safety then become secondary. In fact, according to the study, funded by the strangely Lenfest Foundation, a private institution founded in 2000 and which has among its tasks would not have those to study the benefits of nuclear power but to support secondary education for students in rural areas of Pennsylvania, “Based on the data of the global projections that take into account the effects of the Fukushima accident, we find that, by mid-century, nuclear power could prevent an average of 420,000 to 7,040,000 deaths and 80-240 CtCo2-eq emissions due to fossil fuels, depending on which fuel substitute. In contrast, we estimate that the uncontrolled expansion of large-scale use of natural gas would mitigate the climate problem and cause many more deaths expansion of nuclear energy. “

Into Instead, the study calculated that accidents in nuclear power plants have caused about 4,900 deaths during the same period, ta king as a reference the figures clearly more narrow and severely challenged by other scientists and environmentalists discussing an actual removal of health effects of nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl and long-term consequences for the populations living near nuclear facilities.

Into It should also be said that Kharecha and Hansen admit that there are serious questions about the safety, disposal of radioactive waste and the use of nuclear material for the build atomic weapons, but the biggest concern of the study and what the disaster Fukushima Daiichi nuclear and economic (in fact always called “accident”) and the human and environmental tragedy that followed, may be overshadowing “The benefits of nuclear energy.”

Into The argument is the same as the nuclear lobby (which often consists of the same multinationals of fossil fuels under attack from the study …) began to revive in the rubble of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Fukushima and still smoking: “If the role of Nuclear decreases significantly in the next 20-30 years – said Kharecha – the ‘International Energy Agency states that the achievement of greater emission reductions of greenhouse gases that are needed to mitigate climate change would require “heroic commitments” in the use of emerging low-carbon technologies, which have yet to be proven. “

Into Aside from the fact that to do what they say the two researchers rather than a nuclear renaissance you should talk to a nuclearization of energy production on the planet (with the problem of finding uranium and colossal public funding required) in the end it turns out what are the real enemies of nuclear power and the real alternative to its use: renewable energy and the green economy.

Into Source: http://greenreport.it/_new/index.php?page=default&id=22238&lang=it