Greenhalgh G. The Necessity for Nuclear Power

Graham and Trotman Limited, London, 1980, 250 pages, ISBN13: 978-0-8601()"249-6Energy is no longer a purely technical and commercial question; it has become a political issue affecting the welfare of all mankind with far-reaching implications for the preservation of world peace. It is therefore vitally important for all of us that the right energy decisions be taken without delay and that the important contribution which nuclear energy can make toward the solution of the world energy problem should not be overlooked or, even worse, discarded.It is now recognized that the only significant choices we have, until at least the end of this century, for the production of electric power are coal and nuclear energy and at some places hydropower. Of course, we have to use all other alternative energy sources available and capable of development, but one should realize that by the end of the century, those sources can only make a marginal contribution. The shrinking world reserves and rising costs of petroleum will eventually eliminate it as a source of energy, except for propulsion purposes and uses by the petro-chemical industry. Conservation measures in the more affluent countries and higher priority given to alternative energy technologies may only retard the growth of the demand for electricity.To the developing world also the problems facing the nuclear industry cannot be a question of indifference. The less nuclear power that the industrial countries generate, the more oil they will consume, the higher the price will go, and less oil will be available to the developing world. The same is true of coal. Moreover, a healthy nuclear industry in the industrial countries is an indispensable basis for the expansion of nuclear power in developing countries themselves.Foreword
The Need for More Energy
Energy Demand
The Availability of Oil
Coal
Nuclear Power
How Much Nuclear Plant in Operation by the year 2000?
Nuclear Power Utilisation
Nuclear Process Heat
The Comparative Hazards of Energy Production and Use
The Hazards of Fuel Production
The Hazards of Power Generation
Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect
Hazard of Major Accidents
Three Mile Island
Waste Disposal
Nuclear Safeguards and Non-proliferation
Opposition to Nuclear Power