Yay or Nay: Is nuclear is the way forward?

According to our government, nuclear power is the way forward for our future energy requirements. The supporters of nuclear power say it is far more environmentally friendly than many other forms of electricity generating methods. Nuclear power is cleaner, produces less carbon emissions and will eliminate our need to import energy, so the theory goes.

But Greenpeace have dismissed the green arguments for nuclear power as "like taking up smoking to lose weight". Although the government has promised to invest in renewable energy, this would not be sufficient to rule out the nuclear part of the equation. Do you think that nuclear energy has any part to play in a green Britain, or is the government simply ignoring alternatives that are just as effective?
[Via The Guardian]

For example, Greenpeace believe that pouring so much money into nuclear power will cut off funding for research into renewable power generating technologies. And then of course is the issue of the nuclear waste created by the nuclear power industry. Nuclear waste needs to be disposed in a safe and environmentally friendly way. Is this really possible? The issue of an industrial accident at a nuclear power plant is always a worry, but now we have the added threat of a terrorist attack too. The problem is, not enough money has been put into renewable energy generation, so now we are left with few choices. I really think the government never had any intention of investing in or using renewable energy on any kind of scale large enough to make it viable. To me, all their talk of renewable energy just seems like a PR exercise.

[Via The Guardian]

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