Tuesday 26 April 2011

Glowing future?

This is my first post for over two months now. The temporary radio silence can be put down to a number of factors; a hectic university schedule, a three week trip to Hong Kong or of course an apathetic attitude towards writing with there always being something more prudent on the agenda... In truth it is probably a combination of factors. However, having a week off from my laboratory duties I thought I would dust off the keyboard (not typewriter as the last factory making those closed today – see here: http://t.co/IhUe6p7) and begin tapping away with musings regarding science.

So with numerous issues in science as potential topics for the latest post, I felt it would be best to discuss the topic that I have been asked about most by my colleagues and peers. A subject that has made international news, sparked global debate and fear, and crucially affected the mindsets of world leaders when making decisions on future energy production. This, of course, is the Fukushima nuclear power plant meltdown caused by the major earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11th March 2011.

I by no means am going to go into the details of events and the current situation at the plant as I feel these issues have been well covered by news agencies around the world. However, what I feel has been overlooked by some, is the impact that this event has had on future energy production. Just a few days after the disaster, German Chancellor Angela Merkel shut down Germany’s seven nuclear power plants. Seen as a knee-jerk reaction by many, it was a ‘safety first’ approach from the German Chancellor. Right or wrong it stirred controversy, with a number of countries subsequently reviewing their nuclear policies, including the UK and USA.

Although decisions may be made in the shadow of fear caused by the Fukushima meltdown, they may actually be positive steps for green energy production and a boost for renewable energy. Or at least I sincerely hope so. Long has nuclear energy been viewed by sceptics as holding unnecessary dangers for energy production; nuclear meltdown, webbed hands, pink eyes, six fingers are things people fear... even in Norfolk (apologies to those affected.) Undoubtedly, sceptics of nuclear power will jump on the disaster and say that nuclear power is a ‘bad’ thing... This opinion is slightly myopic in my view. Nuclear power is a scientific marvel for producing large amounts of energy with minimal impact on the environment... an option that should not be overlooked, even considering the ramifications of this disaster...

I think what is clear is that the risks involved with nuclear power need to be understood and relevant funding attached to what has proven to be a potentially environmental and humanitarian detrimental method of energy production. Or of course... attach the appropriate funding to alternative sources...

What is a certainty is that the future policies introduced in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster will have widespread consequences for all, especially the policies of green energies promised by numbers of governments. What the outcomes of said decisions will be are at this point unknown. However, I feel that as the never changing media hype that propagates fear amongst the general public will pour cold water onto nuclear power, it gives the opportunity for other forms of energy production to emerge... hopefully...

For those of you well informed, you will notice that today marks the day of the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. It’s ironic that I have decided to write about nuclear power on such a date, and by no means was this purposeful. 25 years ago nuclear power was the future... science and technology has moved on in so many ways since then but yet the progress in energy production has seemed to move slower than our advancement in so many other fields. In my view, the Fukushima disaster could yield a new dawn for the advancement of many potential fields of energy production... but maybe I am just an optimist...