Are N-Power Risks worth Taking and for Whose Benefit?

 Sustainable Development

 

The universally accepted principle of "Sustainable Development" advocates the pattern of natural resource use while preserving the environment, ensuring that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

 When we consider the entire lifecycle of a Nuclear Power plant, from construction to decommissioning, combined with sourcing of uranium and disposal of the radioactive wastes, the current generation would be making decisions that impact people far into the future. We are supposed to tell future generations, for at least 10,000 years, to keep their feet off nuclear waste dumps.  Mankind has no experience of communicating so many years ahead in time, making Nuclear Waste a serious language problem.

Precautionary Principle

Another universally accepted  "Precautionary Principle" or precautionary approach states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment , in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action.

This principle allows policy makers to make discretionary decisions in situations where there is the possibility of harm from taking a particular course or making a certain decision when extensive scientific knowledge on the matter is lacking. The principle implies that there is a social responsibility to protect the public from exposure to harm, when scientific investigation has found a plausible risk. These protections can be relaxed only if further scientific findings emerge that provide sound evidence that no harm will result. There is abundant scientific knowledge and experience since Second World War regarding horrendous harm due to exposure to Nuclear Radiation form plausible risk of meltdown of Nuclear Reactors, which cannot be ruled out by any stretch of imagination.

Nuclear Power: Only Problems – No Solutions

 Sometimes it is important to restate the obvious ones. Smoking is bad because it causes cancer and it is not good to drive drunk because it can lead to serious accidents. Similarly, we should not opt for Nuclear Power, because it is a very Expensive, Sophisticated & Dangerous Way to Boil Water and can be harmful..

 Nuclear Power (NP) is not sustainable, because it's fissile fuel materials are as limited as fossil fuels and it is not only a high-risk technology in terms of safety, but also with respect to financial investment, because without State subsidies, it does not stand a chance.

 Nuclear Power doesn't add up economically, environmentally or socially. and is neither the answer to modern energy problems nor a panacea for climate change challenges, Electricity is but the fleeting byproduct from Nuclear Power and the  actual product is forever deadly radioactive waste, which needs to be isolated from the biosphere for thousands of years that defy human imagination. Even 21 st Century science has no answer for safe disposal of Nuclear Waste.

Energy Security without Nuclear Power?

The total Nuclear Power capacity projected is 60,000 MW by 2031-32, which works out to be hardly 7.5 % of the total projected capacity.800, 000 MW by then.. As the energy conservation potential, in our energy intensive economy, is estimated to be more than 20% we can easily do away with the need for the projected 60,000 MW (10%) Nuclear Power, at huge financial costs and enormous adverse environmental and social impacts. This can be achieved by cost effective "Energy Conservation" measures the fastest and the cheapest way of making available Clean Energy. But will the powerful MNCs in Nuclear Power Sector and their political nexus, permit the energy conservation measures and Green Power from renewable sources to materialize?

Hidden Agenda  

Former Chairperson of Atomic Energy Commission who retired two years ago Dr. Anil Kakodkar ,candidly explained why the Government is importing nuclear reactors and not using indigenous technologies. In an article published in prominent Marathi newspaper Sakaal Times on 5^th January 2011 he wrote (translated from Marathi), "We have to keep in mind the commercial interests of foreign countries and of the companies there... America, Russia and France were the countries that we made mediators in these efforts to lift sanctions, and hence, for the nurturing of their business interests, we made deals with them for nuclear projects."

  It seems that the USA has found an unwitting client for its Nuclear Power Plants, which did not find market in their own country, since the 3 Mile Island Incident in 1979 . Are we putting Indian lives at risk for the sake of American jobs (which is what President Obama claimed to create during his visit to India)? Are Indian lives so cheap and we have no regard for our own countrymen?

The less we talk about the safety and cost factors of Nuclear Power, the better.. The Uranium is radioactive substance with unstable atoms with constant Radioactive Disintegration or Decay. It is safer, if it is permitted to remain underground without over exploitation, as it may prove to be a Devil once it is extracted. Let us not make Nallagonda, Kadapa and the surrounding areas exposed to the Devil?  

 Evil vs Devil   Nuclear power is not just the Evil and it is the Devil. Evil of our own making can be overcome. The Devil cannot be overcome, not even if we ourselves conjure him into being. This is why; staking our future on Nuclear Power is a Pact with the Devil, impacting the generations far into the future.  

Conclusion

There exists a deep sense of entitlement, a feeling that people can do anything and have anything they want, as long as they earn enough money, by whatever means. But the world cannot be treated like that any longer. Global resources are finite and the misapplication of science & technology has seriously damaged the ecosystems of this unique planet, threatening the ongoing existence of many millions of  species, including ourselves. Self Sacrifice and Social Responsibility, the noble traits, will lead the world toward Sanity and Survival.

We can survive and move forward in harmony with nature by observing the principles of "Sustainable Development" and "Precautionary Approach", rather than choosing to live dangerously to move forward.   

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