Another Environmentalist for Nuclear Energy

Since the start of NEI Nuclear Notes, we've introduced you to a number of significant members of the environmental movement who believe that if we're to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental protection, that nuclear energy must play a larger role in the world's energy mix.

We've told you about James Lovelock, Patrick Moore and Hugh Montefiore. And now, in the May issue of MIT Technology Review, Stewart Brand, legendary computer hacker and founder of the Whole Earth Catalog has joined the ranks of responsible environmentalists who believe nuclear energy is part of the solution:

Can climate change be slowed and catastrophe avoided? They can to the degree that humanity influences climate dynamics. The primary cause of global climate change is our burning of fossil fuels for energy.

So everything must be done to increase energy efficiency and decarbonize energy production. Kyoto accords, radical conservation in energy transmission and use, wind energy, solar energy, passive solar, hydroelectric energy, biomass, the whole gamut. But add them all up and it’s still only a fraction of enough. Massive carbon “sequestration” (extraction) from the atmosphere, perhaps via biotech, is a widely held hope, but it’s just a hope. The only technology ready to fill the gap and stop the carbon dioxide loading of the atmosphere is nuclear power.

There's plenty more, including a prediction that the global environmental movement will begin to listen more closely to sound science when it comes to meeting our environmental priorities. Read it right now.

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds, who is thinking about buying a hybrid, has his own thoughts on Brand's piece over at MSNBC.

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