The CANDU reactors are a good design and quite well respected, with a number of unique features and capabilities, notably on-line refuelling and the use of unenriched uranium.
The mining of coal and oil is not without expense, and the waste, which magically disappears up the smokestacks, involves a number of well-known problems. Of course, the costs are never factored into the cost of fossil fuel energy production.
If you want to talk about hydro power, Canada is one of the world's great generators of it. The environmental consequences are usually stuck out in the wilderness where they are out of sight and out of mind. (And the hell with the natives.)
The fact is, if you want to generate power in the large quantities used by modern societies, you are going to pay an envrironmental price no matter how you do it. The idea is to choose the means of generation which is best suited in all respects. This is _sometimes_ nuclear.
I'm going for a beer. |
