The dangers of nuclear tests


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GREAT PRATICAL JOKES  

Nuclear Power for Australia?

Australia has one of the worlds largest
supplies of Uranium. It is therefore ironicThe vast majority of Australian would have
that Australia has not taken advantage ofthe view of "not in my back yard". Whilst
this resource to produce power. Australiamost wouldn't care if a power plant in the
only has one nuclear reactor and this ismiddle of the desert a couple of thousand of
mainly for scientific use/research not thekilometers away, the lack of water and
production of power. This is becausetransmission costs for make this an
Australia also has huge cheaply access coalunrealistic option. With a power plant in
reserves. Australia therefore has numeroustheir back yard there is the higher risk of
coal plants for the production of power, theradiation from the transport of nuclear waste
majority of power production coming from thisto a holding facility (likely to be somewhere
source. Being a dry continent currently inin the outback). Although Australian could
the grip of a record drought the options foreasily have a nucealr waste facility with no
hydro power is limited and largely alreadythreat to people due to extreme isolation
exploited.and geological stablity in the outback, the
problem lies in transporting the stuff there.
The problem with being so reliant on coal isRoad and Rail transport are both subject to
the amount of CO2 and other gases producedregular accidents. A heavy vehicle carrying
that are contributing to global warming.waste could result in a mini-chernobyl with
Australia which continues to has a growingnuclear waste entering the environment from
economy and population has increasing powersuch an accident possibly endangering a large
demands like most of the world. Australiaarea  and  having  long  term  consequences.
which has not sign the Kyoto agreement
(rightly so as Kyoto is a mere band aidSuch waste from a nuclear power plant would
measure and will not seriously change ouralso give Australia the potential to
environmental  problems).immediately make nuclear weapons in a very
short space of time. Australia is already
Thus the Australian prime minister, Johnrecognised has having the technological know
Howard, is pushing Australians to considerhow to produce the require missle and warhead
the nuclear option to meet future power needstechnology. Such an outcome would be very
as nuclear power plants don't emit CO2 orworrying for our neighbours and lessen our
other greenhouse gases. However there are aargument against nations such as North Korea
number  of  problems  with  this  option.having  nuclear  weapons.
Firstly nuclear power is more expensiveLikewise such nuclear power plants would be a
power. Australians already complain aboutmagnet  for  terrorists  and  the  like.
the size of their power bills (an average
family in Brisbane spends about $500-$800 aThe final nail in the coffin for the prime
quarter or over $2000 a year). This isministers idea is that the states have made
particularly felt most by those who rely onit clear they have no interest in nuclear
air conditioning to counter Australia's hotpower. Such a battle over energy would be
climate. They are not willing to accept moreover the very survival of states and their
expensive  options.rights. If the states lost such a battle the
point of having individual state parliments
Secondly although there are thousands ofwould be mute, they would be useless
nuclear power plants operating withoutoverhangs from federation with the Federal
incident and although it happened on thegovernment in fact taking over all government
other side of the world Australians are wellin Australia should such an eventually occur.
aware of the Chernobyl disaster and theSome would argue this process of the
shocking consequences that continue to bedestruction of the state government is
felt. Australia although a large continentalready well underway, with the federal
is essentially like a giant island with agovernment grabbing ever more power, but
belt of green extending only a few hundredfurther  on  this  is  for  another  article.
kilometers inland from the sea with the rest
being in a vast desert or near desertWhilst nuclear power presents a vison of
condition for much of the time. Australiagreenhouse gase free energy production it
couldn't afford to have any section of thisdoesn't present a realistic future for
'green' band destroyed or a no go zone, suchAustralia. Australia has other options to
a result would have a greater impact in eventexplore, both wind and solar, possibly
of a disaster than in other 'normal'geothermal and even the real future for a
countries. It has already been made clearcleaner world - H2 - Hydrogen power. Perhaps
for nuclear power to be a option is must beputting research and money into this field
near a water source and near to power userswill produce better and more politically
to  cut  down  on  transmission  costs.acceptable results.



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