Best NZ Doco of 2007 on tonight (2nd Feb) "The Nuclear Comeback"

[Steam]

It's on at 9.45pm on TV One.
Very interesting for those interested in climate change (or not) and stuff like that.
It won Best NZ Documentary of 2007.

The Nuclear Comeback
It’s scary. It’s expensive. But could it save the earth?

In a world living in fear of climate change, the nuclear industry claims to have a solution — nuclear power generation produces zero carbon emissions, and with the world’s electricity consumption expected to double in the next 25 years, people are listening.

We are witnessing a global nuclear renaissance, with 27 nuclear power stations under construction, and projections for another 136 within a decade.

"We have absolutely no choice. We need to turn to nuclear energy because it is both clean, safe and abundant enough to ensure the survival of our civilisation," says Bruno Comby of Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy.

However, many people have an inherent fear of things nuclear, especially in New Zealand – being nuclear-free is part of our heritage. But is it time we learnt to love the split atom? Or might we be jumping out of the carbon frying pan, into the plutonium fire?

The Nuclear Comeback goes on a worldwide tour of the nuclear industry in search of answers. It visits some of the planet’s most famous nuclear facilities including the Chernobyl control room, a uranium mine in Australia, "the grand old lady" of commercial nuclear power – the UK’s Calder Hall, and a nuclear waste repository under the Baltic Sea.

Despite nuclear power’s claimed environmental merits, detractors say that it is producing a 100,000-year legacy of radioactive waste for which there is no permanent storage; that the power stations are terrorist targets; and that the industry has a reputation for accidents, cover-ups, and links to nuclear weapons production..

But the nuclear power question is not only for us to decide – demand for nuclear power is most dramatic in developing countries, and is projected to increase. The Nuclear Comeback makes for scary viewing, but is an essential response to a question for our time.

[Nitzer]

That was a fantastic doco, beautifully shot and presented. It certainly gave a lot of food for thought. Overall I think people would be more put off nuclear power after seeing this though, the issue of nuclear waste is still a huge problem

[Eurodave]

Things that make you go HMMMMMMM?............

[merv]

I think the biggest risk is from an inside job terrorist attack or having employees like Homer Simpson.

[SixPackBack]

N.Z government is more than aware of Nuclear energy as en eventual necessity.

To deny its awesome advantages is frankly backwards. Often the most outspoken critics of its use are the least informed.

[James Deuce]

The waste isn't the major issue and we can't use Nuclear Power until they produce commercial reactors that are small enough for NZ to use.

Jantar and K14 have been over and over how NZ's power generation has to be hugely flexible due to our comparatively minimal power draw and our big peaks and troughs. A 2GW nuclear reactor is a waste of time in NZ as the power output isn't variable and we don't use that much electricty.