Kevin Rudd - never ever any nuclear power in Australia.

[weemadando]

Nuclear power is not an option, says Kevin Rudd

June 27, 2008 10:18am
Article from: AAP

* Rudd rules out switching to nuclear power
* Labor being lobbied to change its stance
* More climate change stories

NUCLEAR energy is not being considered as a response to climate change, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

Mr Rudd said other options were available to the Government.

"On the question of nuclear, we believe that we have a huge range of energy options available to Australia beyond nuclear with which and through which we can respond to the climate change challenge," told ABC Radio.

Former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr and the head of Australia's biggest blue-collar union have called on the Rudd Government to rethink its opposition to the nuclear power industry, The Australian reported today.

Mr Carr said nuclear power was the critical bridge between the carbon era and energy from renewable sources.

"There is no other bridging technology to get us from this catastrophic burning of coal and oil into the era of cheap and infinite renewable power," he said.

"We all want to get there. But it's decades off and we need a bridge. The best thing the Western world can do to stop the melting of the polar ice caps is to sponsor the production of the most modern nuclear power plants."

Paul Howes, the national secretary of the Australian Workers Union, said if the Government was serious about a green future and ensuring the future of coal workers, then a shift to nuclear energy was needed.

For a government that ran on a "Save the environment" platform, I'm really seeing some sense here.
-Further subsidisation and expansion of the coal and gas fired power plants.
-The previously discussed delays in developing any sustainable water management.
-Outright refusing to consider nuclear power.
-Continuing to subsidise auto manufacturing, freeway and tollway construction while allowing public transport to degrade further.

Lets just hope that this particular bit of fucking nonsense is a "non-core promise".

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Ahhh, combine this and the desalination plant opposition, aaand: Australian mass suicide, here we come!


P.S. Lusankya, I'll sponsor your immigration to America as my housekeeper. I need to retain my reputation for providing special privileges to girls while laughing as boys die, and this qualifies.

[Admiral Valdemar]

It's too bad nasty nuclear is the only option. I do so tire of this phobia and subsequent shrieks over high prices.

[Zac Naloen]

It's too bad nasty nuclear is the only option. I do so tire of this phobia and subsequent shrieks over high prices.

With a country with as much desert as Australia and a population the size of Australia (is it even half that of the UK's?) surely they can take advantage of that sun somewhat?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

It's pretty ironic considering the tonnes of Uranium they have to not use something that would free them of the need to buy oil for power.

[Stark]

It's pretty ironic considering the tonnes of Uranium they have to not use something that would free them of the need to buy oil for power.

The uranium thing is funny on many, many levels.

[mr friendly guy]

Given our population size there most probably isn't as much urgency to go nuclear as say, China which is planning to deploy loads of reactors. That being said, we should still go nuclear, the advantages having already been mentioned. Moreover I would trust us to look after the nuclear waste. We are geologically stable, and we can eventually dump the waste back where we found it in the first place.

[hongi]

Loons. Nuclear energy isn't a miracle solution, but it should be the centrepiece of Australia's future energy policy. Why would anyone dismiss it off-hand? The government must at least consider it.

[weemadando]

Nuclear power is the logical long-term support solution.

In the mean-time it can provide baseload power, then once we actually develop some good solar/tidal/wind/whatever setups, the nuclear plant(s) can be reduced to peak-demand usage.

If Labor could remove it's head from the crotch of the coal industry for half a second, we might actually get somewhere.

[PainRack]

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

[mr friendly guy]

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

No. Sell it to China. Maybe India as well.

That being said we do have a nuclear reactor in NSW. Its mainly for research and to produce the relevant radioactive material needed for various medical purposes, so we aren't completely ignoring our nuclear material.

[Coyote]

Australia should be the King of Solar, really.

[Edi]

Here is an interesting, though rather long, article with a lot of numbers in it about just how viable what kinds of energy are. It's even more relevant to UK residents, but outlines the issues on a broad scale very, very well.

[Sea Skimmer]

Nuclear power is the logical long-term support solution.

In the mean-time it can provide baseload power, then once we actually develop some good solar/tidal/wind/whatever setups, the nuclear plant(s) can be reduced to peak-demand usage.

That plan is ass backwards. You want to use a system with a constant output and VERY long startup and shutdown times (not to mention massive costs that demand maximum operating time to be paid off) as a peak demand system while using the erratic output of solar/tidal/wind for base load? That does not work.

[weemadando]

Nuclear power is the logical long-term support solution.

In the mean-time it can provide baseload power, then once we actually develop some good solar/tidal/wind/whatever setups, the nuclear plant(s) can be reduced to peak-demand usage.

That plan is ass backwards. You want to use a system with a constant output and VERY long startup and shutdown times (not to mention massive costs that demand maximum operating time to be paid off) as a peak demand system while using the erratic output of solar/tidal/wind for base load? That does not work.

Be quiet! The Greens will hear you!

Nuclear power is only an interim solution and will supply peak demand later... *nudge, nudge, wink, wink*

But sadly, that's the way that the country would run it.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Here is an interesting, though rather long, article with a lot of numbers in it about just how viable what kinds of energy are. It's even more relevant to UK residents, but outlines the issues on a broad scale very, very well.

Mackay's work is gaining a lot of support on energy related boards I frequent. His book, complete or not, is well worth reading, even for non-Britons. Rudd should definitely be reading given this retarded mindset, even he Oz has amazing solar potential.

[PainRack]

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

No. Sell it to China. Maybe India as well.

That being said we do have a nuclear reactor in NSW. Its mainly for research and to produce the relevant radioactive material needed for various medical purposes, so we aren't completely ignoring our nuclear material.

Ah yes. Echoes of the infamous plans to sell your precious timber to Japan, and then reimport it back later as paper while slapping a paper tax on it as wood is "precious". Of course, you sell it to them for a dime and import paper back for a dollar.

[thejester]

Nah, the worst example of that is wool to Italy. Send it at dollars a bale, get back suits that cost $800.

[Archaic`]

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

No. Sell it to China. Maybe India as well.

Rudd's ruled that out too, unless they sign up to the non-proliferation treaty.

[Lusankya]

Ah yes... the kind of article which reminds me of one of the reasons why I sometimes get these desires to vote Liberal. With them, I get the feeling that it's 'only' massive antipathy towards nuclear power in public opinion which is stopping them from building nukes. Given that we could have a whole nuclear life-cycle (from mining through use in power plants to long-term storage) without moving the nuclear material more than about 1km from its original location, this whole anti-nuclear thing is... well... even more dumb than you can imagine.

Strange thing is, the Advertiser seems to be putting its support behind nuclear power, which either means that nuclear support amongst the public is increasing in SA or that the Murdoch press is actually trying to do something not-evil.


PS. Sorry, Duchess, but I don't want to move to the US. If possible, I don't want my kids to grow up in a country where they speak English, but if they do, then I'm rather fond of my hometown (even though it's perfectly placed to me more screwed over by global warming than any other part of Australia... oh well).

[The Duchess of Zeon]

PS. Sorry, Duchess, but I don't want to move to the US. If possible, I don't want my kids to grow up in a country where they speak English, but if they do, then I'm rather fond of my hometown (even though it's perfectly placed to me more screwed over by global warming than any other part of Australia... oh well).

Well, I'm planning to move to Paris when I finish my education, anyway. France will be the best off country in the entire world against the twin hammers of Peak Oil and Global Warming.

[mr friendly guy]

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

No. Sell it to China. Maybe India as well.

That being said we do have a nuclear reactor in NSW. Its mainly for research and to produce the relevant radioactive material needed for various medical purposes, so we aren't completely ignoring our nuclear material.

Ah yes. Echoes of the infamous plans to sell your precious timber to Japan, and then reimport it back later as paper while slapping a paper tax on it as wood is "precious". Of course, you sell it to them for a dime and import paper back for a dollar.

Except I don't see us buying any nuclear power plants or technology from China at this present mind set. We may as well make money from uranium. Hey, maybe when China sets up commercial pebble bed reactors (they only have a working prototype, although they plan to build commercial ones too), we might end up buying that if we eventually go nuclear.

So, what they're planning to do with all that uranium deposits? Sit on it?

No. Sell it to China. Maybe India as well.

Rudd's ruled that out too, unless they sign up to the non-proliferation treaty.

True, in regards to the Indian thing, which is why I said maybe. It depends on what India does. That being said, its not like China is going to be short of funds in the next few years, what with their 1.75 trillion reserves, so we will still make good money that way.

[Adrian Laguna]

Oh man, I'm starting to like Australia. They make me feel so much better about the flock of retards that we have in the United States. They recently narrowed the Presidential options to two men. One of them is openly, blatantly, flamingly pro-nuclear; and the other is the closeted bitch of Exelon, the nation's largest nuclear power corporation. Their raging hard-ons for the power of the atom means that fission power should make good penetration over the next 4-8 years.

I need to retain my reputation for providing special privileges to girls while laughing as boys die, and this qualifies.

It can be a good strategy under certain circumstances. Namely when expecting a massive die-off and the need to replenish the population after or during it. Even non-fertile women would be worth keeping around if the desired population boom results an average of several children per woman. Probably not the case here unless the US devolves into a massive civil war with tens of millions of military casualties.

On the other hand, if expecting a situation were extra population during and after the die-off is undesirable, it is best to favour males. Assuming, of course, that society is willing to strongly encourage the men, especially young men, to engage in lots of hot sweaty man sex, and (for straights) angry hot sweaty man sex.

France will be the best off country in the entire world against the twin hammers of Peak Oil and Global Warming.

I'm not expecting them to handle Global Warming too well, at least not as well as nice frosty places like Scandinavia. Last time they had a bad heat wave lots of people died, and the planet isn't anywhere near done warming up.

[Winston Blake]

"On the question of nuclear, we believe that we have a huge range of energy options available to Australia beyond nuclear with which and through which we can respond to the climate change challenge," told ABC Radio.

The width of our range of options is irrelevant. What matters is the performance of the option and the time needed for a mitigation program. Goddammit, we have 40% of the world's uranium ore and we've got one pissy little research reactor. Every time I think about it I get either depressed or extremely ambitious.

[Resinence]

Oh man, I'm starting to like Australia. They make me feel so much better about the flock of retards that we have in the United States.

Hilariously, swap US with Australia and vice versa and that's my thought's on most threads about American politics

Duchess: Yay scare-mongering simply for the sake of it, yes, it does look bad. No, mass-death's is extremely unlikely, Australia is nowhere near as crowded as most countries. Although I guess you DO have a reputation to keep up, and it is entertaining/useful as a warning. That said, I agree; this is a monumentally idiotic stance taken by Rudd's government when you think about it in relation to public opinion also suppressing desal plants, he may as well grow a handlebar mustache and make a big monologue about taking this country down the shitter for the future.

While I am pro-nuclear, I think Solar is a possible option with sun we get and the huge amounts of land we have with nothing on it. Unfortunately, rudd hasn't shown any serious intentions of embracing that or tidal power, which is sad. Speaking of sad, nuclear is just such a better option, sigh, thanks greenpeace for destroying the planet in your attempts to "save" it.

And even after this shit, I'd still rather have Rudd. And that just shows how much I loathe the liberals (and before I get shanked, the liberals are the conservative party).