Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists asks, "Is nuclear energy different than other energy sources?"

[kristopher]

This is a quick, easy way to become familiar with the pros and cons of nuclear energy as seen by 5 experts on the topic.

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/nuclear-energy-different-other-energy-sources

Is nuclear energy different than other energy sources?

Weeks after a tsunami devastated the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, the impassioned debate over nuclear energy continues. In the wake of Fukushima, comparisons with other energy choices have grown sharper and the question looms whether nuclear power will expand or decline to meet rising energy demands. What is it precisely that makes nuclear energy different from other energy sources? Over the upcoming weeks in this Roundtable, the Bulletin's experts will provide thoughtful analysis and insight as they explore this very question.

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/nuclear-energy-different-other-energy-sources

Just click the red "expand all" to read the responses by:

Charles Forsberg
Forsberg was a Corporate Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory before joining the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT as the executive director of the MIT Nuclear Fuel Cycle Study. His current research interests include the development of integrated nuclear fuel cycles, advanced high-temperature nuclear reactors using liquid-salt coolants, and global systems that couple nuclear and renewable energy.

Arjun Makhijani
Makhijani is president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) and the author of Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy, which can be downloaded free at IEER's website.

Tony Pietrangelo
Pietrangelo is senior vice president and chief nuclear officer at the Nuclear Energy Institute. He has 30 years experience in the nuclear energy industry, where his responsibilities have run the gamut of nuclear plant construction, licensing and operations.

Kristin Shrader-Frechette
Shrader-Frechette taught at University of California before accepting an endowed chair in the Biological Sciences Department and the Philosophy Department at University of Notre Dame, where she directs the Center for Environmental Justice and Children's Health. For 28 years, the US National Science Foundation has funded her research, mostly on quantitative risk assessment, radiobiology, and energy policy. Her latest (2011) book, What Will Work, addresses solutions to climate change.

Sharon Squassoni
Squassoni directs the Proliferation Prevention Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Prior to joining CSIS, she was a senior scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2002 to 2007, she advised Congress as a senior specialist in weapons of mass destruction at the Congressional Research Service. Her other government service includes positions at the State Department and Arms Control and Disarmament Agency in nuclear nonproliferation and policy planning.

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/roundtables/nuclear-energy-different-other-energy-sources

[AndyTiedye]

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