Michael H. Fox

Why We Need Nuclear Power (eBook, ePUB)

The Environmental Case

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Nuclear power may just be the most important solution to our search for clean, sustainable energy sources. Although wind and solar can contribute to our energy mix, we need a reliable source to meet large-scale energy demands and break our dependence on fossil fuels. However, most people are wary, if not downright afraid, of nuclear power. Given nuclear disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima, it's not difficult to see why. In the wake of these events, fear has clouded the public's understanding of the facts. It's time to clear up those misconceptions and examine the science behind nuclear power, in order to determine what role it could and should play in our future. In Why We Need Power: The Environmental Case, radiation biologist Michael H. Fox argues that nuclear power is essential to slowing down the impact of global warming. He examines the issue from every angle, relying on thirty-five years of research spent studying the biological effects of radiation. Fox begins with the problem, carefully laying out how our current energy uses and projections for the future will affect greenhouse gases and global warming. The book then evaluates each major energy source and demonstrates the limits of renewable energy sources, concluding that nuclear power is the best solution to our environmental crisis. Fox then delves into nuclear power, looking at the effects of radiation, the potential for nuclear accidents, and the best methods to dispose of nuclear waste. By systematically analyzing each aspect of the nuclear issue, Fox clarifies which concerns have a scientific basis and which remain unsupported. His in-depth exploration of the facts persuasively demonstrates that nuclear power is critical to reducing the effects of energy production on the global climate. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Why We Need Nuclear Power is an invaluable resource for both general readers and scientists interested in the facts behind nuclear energy.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Oxford University Press
• Seitenzahl: 360
• Erscheinungstermin: 3. März 2014
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780199344598
• Artikelnr.: 40513637

Autorenporträt

Michael H. Fox is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences at Colorado State University. He has been a radiation biologist for 35 years.

Inhaltsangabe

* Table of Contents
* Introduction
* Part 1 Global Warming and Energy Production
* 1 Global climate change: Real or myth?
* What is the debate about?
* The IPCC and International Conventions
* The greenhouse effect
* Skeptical politicians and pundits
* Skeptical scientists
* Historical temperature and greenhouse gas record
* Last 10,000 years of climate - the Holocene
* Recent changes in temperature and CO2
* Melting glaciers and rising seas
* Models
* Response to Singer and Avery
* Predictions of future global warming and consequences
* Sea level and acidification
* Global weirding
* 2 Where our Energy Comes From
* A brief history of energy
* Coal
* Oil and natural gas
* Uranium
* How much energy do we use and where does it come from?
* World energy usage
* What can be done to reduce our carbon-intensive energy economy?
* 3 The Good, Bad and Ugly of Coal and Gas
* Coal
* Anatomy of a coal-fired plant
* Carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants
* Mining and health hazards
* How much is there? 50
* Carbon Capture and Storage
* Natural Gas
* How much is there?
* Greenhouse gas emissions
* Fracking
* 4 The Siren song of renewable energy
* Solar
* Photovoltaic (PV) solar power
* Concentrated Solar Power (CSP)
* Solar heating
* Limitations of solar power
* Wind
* Limitations of Wind Power
* Summary
* 5 Back to the Future: Nuclear Power
* Anatomy of a reactor
* Advantages of nuclear power
* Baseload power 82
* Greenhouse gas emission
* Location and footprint
* Cost
* Subsidies for nuclear and renewables
* Advanced Reactor Technology
* Can nuclear replace coal?
* Arguments against nuclear power
* Part 2 Radiation and its Biological Effects
* 6 The world of the atom
* What is radiation?
* Black body radiation - the quantum
* The nuclear atom
* The quantum atom
* The nucleus
* Radioactivity: decay processes
* Fission
* Summary
* 7 How dangerous is radiation?
* Interactions of Radiation with Matter
* Electromagnetic radiation (photon) interactions
* Charged particle interactions
* Neutron interactions
* What is a dose of radiation?
* Effects of radiation on DNA and cells
* How does radiation cause cancer?
* What are the risks?
* Death from radiation
* Cancer from radiation
* Hereditary effects of radiation
* How bad is plutonium?
* Summing up
* 8 What comes naturally and not so naturally
* Natural Background Radiation
* Cosmic radiation
* Primordial terrestrial radiation
* Medical exposure
* Part 3 Risks of Nuclear Power
* 9 Nuclear Waste
* What is nuclear waste?
* The long and the short of waste storage
* Yucca Mountain
* Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
* Recycling spent nuclear fuel
* Making new fuel from recycled "waste"
* Summing up
* 10 About those accidents
* The Scare, March 16, 1979
* Three Mile Island, March 28, 1979
* How the accident happened
* Consequences of TMI
* Chernobyl, April 26, 1986
* How the accident happened
* The hazardous radioisotopes
* Health consequences
* Environmental consequences
* A trip to Chernobyl
* Consequences for nuclear power
* Fukushima, March 11, 2011
* How the accident happened
* Health and environmental consequences
* Consequences for nuclear power
* Public perception of risks from nuclear power
* 11 The Quest for Uranium
* Mining for uranium
* Shinkolobwe
* Shiprock
* Milling
* In Situ Recovery
* Enrichment
* Fuel fabrication
* World resources of uranium
* Megatons to Megawatts
* Is there enough uranium for a nuclear renaissance?
* Breeder reactors
* Thorium
* Summary
* 12 Now What?
* Myth 1: Radiation is extremely dangerous and we don't understand it
* Myth 2: There is no solution to the nuclear waste produced by nuclear
power
* Myth 3: Nuclear power is unsafe and nuclear accidents have killed
hundreds of thousands of people
* Myth 4: Uranium will run out too soon and mining it generates so much
carbon dioxide that it loses its carbon-free advantage
* Myth 5: Nuclear power is so expensive it can't survive in the
marketplace
* Afterword
* Appendix A: Global warming
* Earth's energy balance:
* Radiative forcing
* The emission scenarios of the IPCC special report on emissions
scenarios (SRES)
* Appendix B Glossary of terms, definitions and units
* Appendix C Glossary of acronyms and abbreviations
* Appendix D Selected Nobel prizes
* Index