Isn’t the definition of insanity knowing what you are about to do is wrong but doing it anyway. And then doing it again. And Again. If this is so, this gets pretty close.
Britain’s Business Secretary, John Hutton, will call today for a huge expansion of Britain’s nuclear power in what he predicts could be a £20bn economic bonanza that will create 100,000 new jobs and benefit the economy as much as North Sea oil.
Hutton will argue that the UK’s nuclear programme should go beyond replacing the existing stock of 23 reactors, which provide 20% of the country’s energy. Instead nuclear should contribute “a significantly higher proportion” of the nation’s energy needs in the years ahead, and Britain should aim to become a world leader in the development of nuclear power technology.
Hutton will say: “There has never been a greater global demand for finance, equipment and skills to build and operate nuclear power stations. I want Britain to be leading the world in the development and application of this new generation of low carbon power technology.”
But Hutton knows that, over its life-cycle, nuclear is not low carbon. he knows the economics of nuclear do not add up. He knows that it is not the answer to climate change. He knows that there is no solution to nuclear waste and he knows that civil nuclear power is intrinsically linked to military weapons. He knows nuclear is not the answer to anything, but still he says that it is… so much so that we are going to spend billions on a flawed technology.
Is that insanity or am I missing something?