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Nuclear power in Germany. Nuclear power in Germany accounted for 17.7% of national electricity supply in 2011, compared to 22.4% in 2010.[2][3] German nuclear power began with research reactors in the 1950s and 1960s with the first commercial plant coming online in 1969. The anti-nuclear movement in Germany has a long history dating back to the early 1970s, when large demonstrations prevented the construction of a nuclear plant at Wyhl. In 1986, large parts of Germany were covered with radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl disaster and Germans went to great lengths to deal with the contamination.

Nuclear power has been a topical political issue in recent decades, with continuing debates about when the technology should be phased out. History[edit] Germany, like most countries in the world, generates the majority of its electricity from traditional fossil fuel sources. Anti-nuclear protest near nuclear waste disposal centre at Gorleben in northern Germany, on 8 November 2008. Operators[edit] Accidents[edit] Deaths per TWH by energy source. Comparing deaths/TWh for all energy sources I wrote this back in 2008 and with one new death that is somewhat nuclear energy related (a death at one of the japanese nuclear plants following the 8.9 earthquake) the statistics are not changed.

Deaths per TWH by energy source

Japan should have had sealed backup diesel generators or updated some of their designs. However, nuclear still compares very, very well to the other energy sources. The air pollution data is mainly from the World Health Organization and the european study Externe. The World Health Organization compiled peer reviewed health studies on air pollution from many institutions. Correction on the coal deaths per twh for China.

Nuclear Waste Dump

Chernobyl disaster. Location of Chernobyl nuclear power plant The Chernobyl disaster (Ukrainian: Чорнобильська катастрофа, Chornobylska Katastrofa – Chornobyl Catastrophe; also referred to as Chernobyl or the Chornobyl accident) was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine (then officially the Ukrainian SSR), which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union.

Chernobyl disaster

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (福島第一原子力発電所事故, Fukushima Daiichi ( pronunciation) genshiryoku hatsudensho jiko?)

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Schacht Asse II. Coordinates: History[edit] Asse II was allegedly used as a research mine since 1965.

Schacht Asse II

Between 1967 and 1978 radioactive waste was placed in storage. The mine is operated by the German government, and was executed by the Helmholtz Zentrum München. Research was stopped in 1995; between 1995 and 2004 cavinates were filled with salt. ITER - the way to new energy.

Oil

The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels. Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are America's primary source of energy, accounting for 85 percent of current US fuel use.

The Hidden Cost of Fossil Fuels

Some of the costs of using these fuels are obvious, such as the cost of labor to mine for coal or drill for oil, of labor and materials to build energy-generating plants, and of transportation of coal and oil to the plants. These costs are included in our electricity bills or in the purchase price of gasoline for cars. But some energy costs are not included in consumer utility or gas bills, nor are they paid for by the companies that produce or sell the energy. These include human health problems caused by air pollution from the burning of coal and oil; damage to land from coal mining and to miners from black lung disease; environmental degradation caused by global warming, acid rain, and water pollution; and national security costs, such as protecting foreign sources of oil. Air Pollution Clean air is essential to life and good health.

Natural Gas Fracking

Coal. Unfair and balanced: Is U.S. reporting too soft on climate skeptics? Photo: Nicco Mele Cross-posted from Midwest Energy News.

Unfair and balanced: Is U.S. reporting too soft on climate skeptics?

When it comes to reporting on climate change, European media are from hothouse Venus, and their American counterparts are from considerably more frigid Mars. The divide between them may be having a profound impact on climate and energy policy in both parts of the world. European journalists accuse their American counterparts of maintaining a false balance in their reporting, pretending climate science is still in doubt, and offering politicians cover for inaction. But while that may have been true just a few years ago, it is changing now, say American editors. For Peter Vandermeersch, editor-in-chief at the traditionally conservative daily NRC Handelsblad in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, there is no debate about climate change.

“Absolutely, that’s a given,” he said. “There’s almost no discussion about it,” agreed Wouter Verschelden, editor-in-chief at the progressive daily De Morgen in Brussels, Belgium. “He said, she said” journalism. 'Dirty' Energy Dwarfs Clean in China and India. ReutersCondensation at a coal-burning power station in Beijing.

'Dirty' Energy Dwarfs Clean in China and India

Many experts agree that for the world to rein in rising greenhouse gas emissions, the galloping economies of China and India would have to figure out how to base their future economic expansion on technologies and fuels that are “cleaner” than the fossil fuels the United States and Europe used in their own industrial revolutions long ago. We hear a lot about how China and India are becoming world leaders in clean technology, producing and installing solar factories and wind farms at a breakneck pace. Problem solved? Well, no. Oil Change International. No Dirty Energy - Dirty Energy. The planet has reached an energy crossroads. The choice Extracting dirtier and more dangerous sources of energy, or Responding to the climate crisis by embracing clean, renewable and efficient energy. Earthworks’ No Dirty Energy Campaign works to break our dependence on dirty energy while championing cleaner choices. Our future depends on: Avoiding so-called “bridge” energy sources, such as natural gas or nuclear power, that pose greater long-term risk without solving fundamental problems.

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