nuclear industry is finished, page-121

mja it is more a question of what planet are you on? The Japanse Energy Minister Yasano has already come out this morning with the firm statement that "nuclear power will remain the main energy source to support Japan's economy and society."

It is important to understand that Japan has in very little option but to use nuclear power as it has virtually no fossil fuel reserves - oil or coal. In fact what was not mentioned in the current spate of opinion pieces is that Germany, France, Italy, Austria, South Korea and the UK also have either no coal left or in the case of the UK quite small remaining reserves.

Central Europe is better off with large amounts of lignite remaining with good black coal in Poland and Czechoslovakia, but the better quality coal now tends to be in deep and often narrow seams so expensive.

France, Korea and Taiwan etc also lack any oil reserves while Germany?s share of North Sea oil is negligible and France has virtually zero oil. France has back-up hydro, buteven this is not fail safe as the droughts of two years ago revealed.

In other words the collective adoption of nuclear energy was a matter of political and economic necessity for many countries,not enchantment with nuclear power as such.

Japan particularly is vulnerable as it is so dependent on external supplies not only of energy, but food and fertilizer. Post war it diversified supply across oil and coal imports as did the others, but was so traumatised by the 1973 oil embargo by the Arab states that it had no choice, in its own energy reserves, but to use nuclear power for what has become 30% of its energy mix.

This all has a long history. Its 1931 invasion of Manchuria was basically to obtain material and energy supplies to support not just imperial ambitions but domestic needs. The US oil embargo imposed on it, then led on to the attack on Pearl Harbour and the invasion of the Dutch East Indies to secure coal and oil supply. Japan had defeated Russia in 1904, but didn?t have its own back up of coal and metals to support its new found imperial status. In this situation it is very difficult for Japan to back away from uranium as even its coal supplies from Australia, India and South Africa could be easily cut by a few well placed mines in the China Sea or the Sunda Strait.

Britain is in much the same position even with its North Sea gas and oil as the North Sea will be largely depleted by 2025. The next options are Russian gas and imported LPG, then coal seam gas. Dependence on Russian gas supply is not an deal political stance. Wind, wave and tidal power can back this up, but modern cities are virtually unworkable unless there is a basic guarantee of always-on power.