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Trade-offs reveal no clear favorites in alternative energy market
September 12, 2007CHICAGO, Ill. The nuclear power industry is riding the green wave back into public favor with its promise of a low-carbon solution to our growing energy needs. But even as the industry struggles to dictate what role nuclear can realistically play, it is bound by a global energy landscape-from solar to carbon sequestration-that is still predominantly shaped by the marketplace.
Veteran New York Times energy reporter Matthew Wald takes a pragmatic look at the trade-offs associated with investment in a number of alternative energy sources in "Getting Power to the People," a special in-depth feature appearing in the September/October 2007 issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Wald considers variables such as the cost of fuel inputs, capacity factor, and the price of carbon capture technology, and discusses how they affect energy prices for consumers. "There is a future on the grid for almost everything: coal, natural gas, nuclear power, gasified biomass, and probably wind and solar as well," Wald concludes. "What remains is to determine the proportions."
Additional materials include selected graphs that illustrate baseline energy concepts and a summation chart that offers energy source comparison at a glance.
Also in this issue of the Bulletin: Want the truth about the hidden world of hazardous waste disposal and the arms trade" It's all about knowing how something gets from point A to point B. Sergio Finardi, a logistics expert who independently tracks the international freight transport system, talks to the Bulletin about subterfuge and foul play rampant in the transport business, and about how he knew that the United States had decided to invade Iraq a year before it happened.
Elsewhere in the Bulletin:
* Jeanne Guillemin warns that if history is any guide, states will again call on scientists to develop biological weapons;
* Harold A. Feiveson scrutinizes the environmental consequences of the Bush administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership;
* Jennifer Ouellette explores how scientists can improve their notoriously poor ability to communicate risk;
* Researchers with the Global Transnational Terrorism Project map the social ties that bind terrorist networks.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Additional materials include selected graphs that illustrate baseline energy concepts and a summation chart that offers energy source comparison at a glance.
Also in this issue of the Bulletin: Want the truth about the hidden world of hazardous waste disposal and the arms trade" It's all about knowing how something gets from point A to point B. Sergio Finardi, a logistics expert who independently tracks the international freight transport system, talks to the Bulletin about subterfuge and foul play rampant in the transport business, and about how he knew that the United States had decided to invade Iraq a year before it happened.
Elsewhere in the Bulletin:
* Jeanne Guillemin warns that if history is any guide, states will again call on scientists to develop biological weapons;
* Harold A. Feiveson scrutinizes the environmental consequences of the Bush administration's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership;
* Jennifer Ouellette explores how scientists can improve their notoriously poor ability to communicate risk;
* Researchers with the Global Transnational Terrorism Project map the social ties that bind terrorist networks.
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Nuclear Power News and Current Nuclear Power Events RSSFungi the cause of many outbreaks of disease but mostly ignored
Fungi can cause a number of life-threatening diseases but they also are becoming increasingly useful to science and manufacturing every year.
Special topics in environmental mechanics
With rapid development of economics since the 1980s, people have been increasingly realized that the environment plays an important role in the sustainable development of society and economy.
Ceramic, heal thyself
A new computer simulation has revealed a self-healing behavior in a common ceramic that may lead to development of radiation-resistant materials for nuclear power plants and waste storage.
Compound removes radioactive material from power plant waste
Strontium 90 is a common radioactive by-product of fission in nuclear power plants. When extracted from the reactor along with other isotopes, a mixture is created made up of the radioactive material and inert ions like sodium and calcium.
Nuclear cannibals
Nuclear energy production must increase by more than 10 percent each year from 2010 to 2050 to meet all future energy demands and replace fossil fuels, but this is an unsustainable prospect.
Durham University leads UK research project into cheaper solar energy
A national team of scientists led by experts at Durham University are embarking on one of the UK's largest ever research projects into photovoltaic (PV) solar energy.
US presidential candidates and their views on scientific issues
What are the United States presidential candidates' positions on scientific topics ranging from evolution to global warming? A special news report, which is being published in the 4 January issue of the journal Science, addresses these questions and profiles the nine leading candidates on where they stand on important scientific issues.
Dam the Red Sea and release gigawatts
Damming the Red Sea could solve the growing energy demands of millions of people in the Middle East and alleviate some of the region's tensions pertaining to oil supplies through hydroelectric power.
Argonne's nuclear energy research moves toward greater reliance on computer simulation
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory is taking its nuclear energy research into new territory - virtual territory that is.
Nanotech's health, environment impacts worry scientists
The unknown human health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology are a bigger worry for scientists than for the public, according to a new report published today (Nov. 25) in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
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