On another thread about nuclear warfare, Ernest posed a question about nuclear vs. fossil fuel generation of electricity. I have been wondering about this myself recently, and then, this month National Geographic did an article on the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. The article noted that a small number of environmentalists are beginning to consider that nuclear power may be a lesser evil than fossil fuel generated power given the serious consequences of global warning.

As awful as Chernobyl was, it has apparently been much less damaging over time (at least to date)than what most theorists had thought would be the case. The implication is that the risk to our ecosystem and living beings from nuclear accidents or from the storage of spent nuclear fuel may be less than the risks from global warming.

As the aftermath of Chernobyl is being studied, data from this unintended in vivo experiment is being gathered and analyzed that will soon, or perhaps even now, enable some serious cost/benefit analyses to be done of the environmental risks from either means of production.

World demand for electrical power continues to grow at a phenomenal rate as China and other countries become increasingly industrialized.
Not only does more of the world plug in--the plugged-in world plugs in more and more.

Thoughts, info., explorations?

Janie