"Energy is essential for civilised living, but the current approach of basing our energy-intensive lifestyle on fossil fuels is unsustainable. We need to make fundamental changes if our society is to survive.
The nuclear option does not make sense on any level: economically, environmentally, politically or socially. It is too costly, too dangerous, too slow and has too small an impact on global warming.
That is why most of the developed world is rejecting nuclear power in favour of renewable energy and improved efficiency.
We should be a responsible global citizen and set serious targets to reduce our greenhouse pollution, but we should not go down the nuclear path.
The rational response to our situation is to combine vastly improved efficiency with an investment in renewable energy technologies."
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Professor Ian Lowe is the president of the Australian Conservation Foundation and author of the latest Quarterly Essay, Reaction Time: Climate Change & the Nuclear Option.
The essay will be launched by Robyn Williams at the Brisbane Writers' Festival on Saturday September 15.
The essay will be launched by Robyn Williams at the Brisbane Writers' Festival on Saturday September 15.
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