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We supporters of green technologies are normally also anti- nuclear and are often skeptical of proliferation.The reason we are anti-nuclear is because of dangers both during the running of the plant and the disposal of nuclear waste. This especially because for the people who are involved in case of any accident the consequences can be traumatic.So how is it that we are supporting nuclear power plants, when it comes to India. Why the double standards? What is so special that we make an exception and think that Indian nuclear plants can be supported ?
“Climate change issues cannot be addressed by asking the poor to cut back on consumption. You can’t get 90 per cent of carbon dioxide reduction by telling them to reduce their nutrition levels. You can’t have a just world by asking them to use less energy,” Bill Gates said at Davos in his reply to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon's plea to all nations to cut their energy consumption. Gates was batting for poor nations like India who do not produce adequate energy needed to feed and educate its poor.
Now let us first see the ground realities of power generation in India. The per capita power consumption in India is only 80watts per person in a nation that has been deficient if power since the start of its industrialization in the early sixties. When you compare this to 1460 watt per person consumption in the US, 700 watt per person in the EU and 364 watt per person in China,your realize that India is grossly energy insufficient to feed or educate its billion strong people. Energy is a basic need for modern man today and a minimum of 350 watt per person is needed to cover the basic needs.
Not only is the consumption low but the quality of power in India is also extremely poor with old and dilapidated plants with high emissions chugging along beside new generation power units, only because their is still no better alternative in a power deficient country. So unless India goes nuclear in a big way they will burn coal and oil and other fossil fuels that will increase their carbon footprint to a great extent. Today India has one of the lowest carbon foot prints amongst the major economies in the world at 1.8tonnes per person .
This works out favorably when compared to 3.1 tonne per person of China, or 13.8 tonne per person of Japan, 15.4 tonne per person of U.K. and 20.6 tonne per person of Australia and 28.6 tonne per person of the U.S. However the overall generation of carbon by India with its billion plus population is only the third highest behind the US and China at 1800 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum. This is the reason why India must now think of going nuclear and not the fossil fuel route to meet its energy needs. For if it does not it will burn enough fossil fuel that will quickly increase the carbon emissions globally to new highs.
We supporters of green technologies are normally also anti- nuclear and are often skeptical of proliferation.The reason we are anti-nuclear is because of dangers both during the running of the plant and the disposal of nuclear waste. This especially because for the people who are involved in case of any accident the consequences can be traumatic.So how is it that we are supporting nuclear power plants, when it comes to India. Why the double standards? What is so special that we make an exception and think that Indian nuclear plants can be supported ?
“Climate change issues cannot be addressed by asking the poor to cut back on consumption. You can’t get 90 per cent of carbon dioxide reduction by telling them to reduce their nutrition levels. You can’t have a just world by asking them to use less energy,” Bill Gates said at Davos in his reply to U.N. Chief Ban Ki-Moon's plea to all nations to cut their energy consumption. Gates was batting for poor nations like India who do not produce adequate energy needed to feed and educate its poor.
Now let us first see the ground realities of power generation in India. The per capita power consumption in India is only 80watts per person in a nation that has been deficient if power since the start of its industrialization in the early sixties. When you compare this to 1460 watt per person consumption in the US, 700 watt per person in the EU and 364 watt per person in China,your realize that India is grossly energy insufficient to feed or educate its billion strong people. Energy is a basic need for modern man today and a minimum of 350 watt per person is needed to cover the basic needs.
Not only is the consumption low but the quality of power in India is also extremely poor with old and dilapidated plants with high emissions chugging along beside new generation power units, only because their is still no better alternative in a power deficient country. So unless India goes nuclear in a big way they will burn coal and oil and other fossil fuels that will increase their carbon footprint to a great extent. Today India has one of the lowest carbon foot prints amongst the major economies in the world at 1.8tonnes per person .
This works out favorably when compared to 3.1 tonne per person of China, or 13.8 tonne per person of Japan, 15.4 tonne per person of U.K. and 20.6 tonne per person of Australia and 28.6 tonne per person of the U.S. However the overall generation of carbon by India with its billion plus population is only the third highest behind the US and China at 1800 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per annum. This is the reason why India must now think of going nuclear and not the fossil fuel route to meet its energy needs. For if it does not it will burn enough fossil fuel that will quickly increase the carbon emissions globally to new highs.
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