Nuclear Energy vs. Global Warming. The History of the Global Warming Scare. Global Warming: How It All Began by Richard Courtney (See Review Comments at the end of this Paper) Imagined risk All available evidence indicates that man-made global warming is a physical impossibility, but if the predicted warming could be induced it would probably provide net benefits. Widespread imagined risk is to be expected as the end of the twentieth century (the end of the second millennium) approaches. Global warming proponents call for reduced CO2 emissions and this equates to a call for cuts in the use of energy, but the energy industries have done more to benefit mankind than anything else since the invention of agriculture. The past prophets of doom have all been wrong, so it is reasonable to expect today’s doom-mongers to justify their arguments.
Also, some global warming proponents are accepting a good financial income from the global warming scare and have become global warming propagandists to promote their interests. The origins of the global warming scare Figure 1. Onar. Is nuclear power a global warming solution? | Time for change. Are there any ways to prevent global warming? The main cause of global warming is the increased emission of so called greenhouse gases , in particular carbon dioxide (chemical symbol CO2). These greenhouse gases have an average lifetime in the atmosphere of 50 to 200 years.
This means that even if we stopped the emission of greenhouse gases completely tomorrow, global warming would still continue. In other words: It is impossible to stop global warming, it is only possible to mitigate its effects through a drastic reduction of the emission of CO2. Can nuclear power plants mitigate the effects of global warming? Nuclear energy is used to generate electrical power. How much can nuclear energy reduce the main cause of global warming?
The International Energy Agency (IEA) records the energy consumption world-wide and produces a forecast for the next 25 years. From all measures proposed, nuclear energy was found to have the smallest effect (only 10%). The following results attract attention: Nuclear Energy for Texans - How Does Nuclear Energy Help Slow Global Warming? Nuclear energy is a key tool in reducing greenhouse gases. Nuclear power plants generate electricity for one in five homes and businesses in the United States without producing or emitting any greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. Nuclear power plants generate 73 percent of all carbon-free electricity in America. Life-cycle emissions from nuclear energy are comparable to other non-emitting sources of electricity, such as solar, wind and hydropower. Carbon dioxide is widely believed to be one of the main causes of global warming. The volume of greenhouse gas emissions prevented at the nation’s 104 nuclear units is equivalent to taking 96 percent of all passenger cars off America’s highways for one year.
Voluntary efforts by U.S. industry and international emission reduction efforts such as the Kyoto Protocol would be hampered significantly if nuclear power production did not increase. Opponents to nuclear power cite “life-cycle” impacts. Support for nuclear energy is bipartisan. The Advantages of Nuclear Energy | Global Warming.