Telegraph-Journal, Published Saturday February 14th, 2009
I am a physics graduate from UdeM and I strongly oppose Point Lepreau’s second reactor.
Our government wants to purchase the yet untested ACR-1000 nuclear reactor. After having invested big money in designing the ACR-1000, Atomic Energy Canada Ltd. is now desperately trying to sell it but no one wants it! Even nuclear friendly Ontario said no.
But New Brunswick’s Premier wants to say yes. Yes to Point Lepreau 2, to a research reactor, to uranium mining and to a nuclear waste dump.
Nuclear energy is not green. Uranium is mined with a tremendous cost to the environment. Nuclear generated electricity is not a solution to our green house gas emission problem since only seven per cent of greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation.
Profitable and safe nuclear energy is science fiction. What is real is that technology development now advances so fast that we need to look at what’s coming up on the scientific horizon. Renewable technologies will be a desirable alternative much sooner than our prime minister seems to realize.
Solar, wind, wood pellets and hydrogen fuel cells are opening the door to smaller centres of power production. These are today’s new technologies. They are safer, greener and the more we develop them the more they become profitable. It will be with embarrassment that our descendants will try to contain radioactive waste for the next 10,000 years. They’ll never understand our arrogance in leaving this legacy when existing technologies would have allowed us to behave more responsibly.
MARC THERIAULT
Moncton
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