[Triumf-seminars] TRIUMF Seminar today at 14:00

[TRIUMF Seminars]

Date/Time: Thu 2014-10-16 at 14:00

Location:  Auditorium          

Speaker:   Pat Walden (TRIUMF)

Title:     Nuclear Power, is it the energy for the future?

Abstract: In November 2013 four prominent climate scientists, Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel, James Hansen, and Tom Wigley issued an open letter to environmentalists to stop their opposition to nuclear power. They argued that continued opposition to nuclear power would threaten humanity's ability to avoid dangerous climate change, and that the risks associated with the expanded use of nuclear energy are orders of magnitude smaller than the risks associated with fossil fuels. They stated, “while it may be theoretically possible to stabilize the climate without nuclear power, in the real world there is no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial role for nuclear power”. On the whole the environmental moment has greeted the letter with derision, and the negative attitude towards nuclear power is largely unchanged. I will examine the main objections against nuclear power and show that they are largely unfounded and I will discuss where the future of nuclear power could lead us if it is allowed to develop.

Refreshments 15 minutes beforehand.

______________________________

General TRIUMF seminar information available at http://www.triumf.ca/home/upcoming-events/about-seminars-lectures