U.K. Nuclear Update

In the run-up to last night's State of the Union speech, I missed an interesting development over in the U.K. regarding nuclear energy and the debate on climate change. From the Scotsman:

In an apocalyptic assessment endorsed by Tony Blair, an international group of scientists warned in the study published yesterday that increasing temperatures caused by the greenhouse effect pose a pressing threat to humanity...

The report comes as ministers consider authorising the construction of a new generation of nuclear reactors in Britain. Adding urgency to that review, the most recent official figures show that the UK's carbon emissions are rising again.

Many environmental groups and some Labour MPs are opposed to new atomic power stations, although the Prime Minister is understood to be leaning towards the nuclear option.

Unlike coal-power and gas-power plants, nuclear stations do not produce . "There are no magic bullets; a portfolio of options is needed and excluding any options will increase costs," the scientists conclude.

Where have we heard that argument before?

For more information on the report, click here. For a story on the report from Australia, click here. Click here for a typical anti-nuke argument from Wales, and here for a pair of interesting letters to the editor from the Herald (U.K.). And finally, our friends at the World Nuclear Association have detected a change of heart on the part of one critical member of the Labour government.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, United Kingdom, Tony Blair, Climate Change