Antinuclear

Resuscitation of uranium market unlikely, despite Japan’s election result

Australia’s uranium lobby, ever ready to clutch at straws, already sees the Japanese election result as the signal for the salvation of that tottering industry.

There are many factors that make it unlikely that the poll result does mean resuscitation for the global nuclear industry.

In Japan, anti-nuclear opinion remains widespread. The nuclear regulator will not even start inspecting the shut-down reactors until June 2013. The LNG fuel supply is taking over in  a big way in Japan. Renewable energy is developing there, (though the new government may succeed in stifling it).  The Fukushima radiation problem does not go away.

Japan is not the be-all and end -all of nuclear power.  The USA is more like that.  USA has by far the greatest number of commercial (and military) nuclear reactors. Their commercial reactors are aging, and no sign of progress in new ones. USA – the world leader in nuclear power, has the potential to join China, as world leader in renewable energy.

Europe’s nuclear industry is well in decline, as Germany succeeds with renewable energy, and France wrestles with the difficult action of reducing its expensive dependence on its aged nuclear power fleet.

UK is in a very confused situation, as companies struggle to finance UK’s grand plan for new nuclear, and the government produces new, rather hidden, subsidies for this.

China’s much touted nuclear industry is slow to get going. (They’re not stupid. They see the problems elsewhere, and they’re racing ahead with renewables)

As for Asian, and Middle East countries – well, they saw what happened to Iraq – without nuclear weapons, and what is likely to happen , similarly, to Iran –  so they want nuclear power  -(the essential fore-runner to nuclear weapons).

So – why does Australia even want to sell uranium, increasing  nuclear weapons proliferation – even if the uranium market does return from the grave? Christina Macpherson, 18 Dec 12

December 17, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews