Liens rapides

1. Nuclear energy is not reliable: Though environmental lobbyists tell us that nuclear reactors are now “clean and safe”, this was the same message that was expressed 21 years ago prior to Chernobyl. Based on the historical precedent, nuclear energy cannot be considered a reliable option. Even Generation 3 or 4 nuclear reactors (which exist now only on paper) cannot guarantee a 100% safety record.
2. Nuclear energy is not affordable: Nuclear energy has long term costs which are not internalised in the direct costs. The costs of both nuclear waste management and the decommissioning of nuclear power plants are substantial and will be borne over the long term. For example, the half life of plutonium, one of the ingredients of nuclear waste, has a half life of 24,000 years—roughly the equivalent of 1,000 generations. Furthermore, the cost of reprocessing waste is high, as it inevitably leads to leakage into ocean and underground water sources.
3. Nuclear energy is not economically viable: Nuclear energy is receiving both direct and hidden subsidies, through subsidies for the production or buying of nuclear fuel and waste management. This subsidization occurs over the long term, demonstrating that nuclear energy is not economically viable. Nuclear energy is a powerful centralized energy source, making it potentially unaffordable for many developing countries because of the significant investment required in energy grids. Additionally, every nuclear plants requires substantial state guarantees which could potentially put developing countries into debt.
4. Nuclear energy is not socially acceptable: Because of the long term costs associate with waste management and decommissioning, the use of nuclear energy means that its costs will be borne by future generations. This undermines the very principle of sustainable development by “compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”, and is therefore not socially acceptable.
5. Nuclear energy is not environmentally sound or emission free: Nuclear power plants emit radioactive gases which affect not only the environment but also atmospheric conductivity that leads to climate change. Furthermore, the process of cooling reactors requires large volumes water of water, which can evaporate into the atmosphere contributing to climate change. Heat contamination from this process can also alters the water ecosystems.
6. Nuclear energy is not renewable: The required natural resource input, namely natural uranium, is limited and prices are on the rise. Extracting plutonium from spent nuclear fuel results in unmanageable volumes of liquid nuclear waste. The reactors which used plutonium proved to be unreliable.
7. Contrary to popular belief, nuclear energy is not a solution to climate change: From a life cycle perspective, including mining and transportation, the production of nuclear energy leads to greater Co2 emissions than renewable sources of energy such as wind.
8. The proliferation of nuclear energy leads to the proliferation of nuclear weapons: Furthermore, both nuclear power plants and waste processing plants and storage facilities are good targets for terrorists and can be a good resource for dirty bomb materials."
   
   

8 avril 2010 : Obama avec Medvedev pour signer l'accord Start

AFP/YURI KADOBNOV

Ils doivent signer dans la capitale tchèque un nouveau traité START prévoyant une réduction des  arsenaux nucléaires de leurs pays.La cérémonie de signature formelle du traité est prévue dans  la salle espagnole du château de Prague devant lequel B.Obama avait prononcé il y a un an un discours appelant à un monde  débarrassé de l'arme nucléaire. Moscou et Washington s'engageront à réduire le nombre de leurs ogives  nucléaires à 1.550 chacun, soit une baisse de 74% par rapport à la limite du  traité START, acronyme de "Strategic Arms Reduction Talks" (Pourparlers sur la  réduction des armes stratégiques), accord signé en 1991 mais arrivé à expiration  fin 2009.

Progress towards Reducing the Threat
and Numbers of Existing Nuclear Weapons

Home | Map | Timeline | Treaties | Stockpiles | Reduction | Proposals | Resources | Glossary