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Greenpeace to Ontario government: There’s a way to stop nuking green energy
02 July 2009
In making his suspension announcement, Ontario Energy Minister George Smitherman said the price was “billions” of dollars too high for new reactors at Darlington. The government’s announcement shows Ontarians that the true cost of nuclear is so astronomically high that even Energy Minister Smitherman couldn’t justify the price.
Through the Don’t Nuke Green Energy campaign, Greenpeace has been giving Minister Smitherman that advice for months. The government’s new delay also goes a long way in supporting what Greenpeace and other environmental groups have been saying for years: that nuclear is dirty, dangerous, and expensive.
Minister Smitherman’s acknowledging the high cost of nuclear power is a step in the right direction. But he’s immediately taken a step backward by also asking the Harper government to help pay for new nuclear plants. That’s just a way of passing the buck.
The best next step for Minister Smitherman is to develop cleaner, cheaper and less risky options for electricity, such as conservation, renewables and local generation.
The Problem is nuclear
Earlier in June, Greenpeace and 12 more of Canada’s largest environmental organizations asked Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to replace the Pickering nuclear station with green power instead of buying new expensive replacement reactors.
In an open-letter, the environmental groups also told the Premier that the biggest barrier standing in the way of developing green power in Ontario is his government’s decision to reserve 50 per cent of the electricity grid for nuclear generation, which robs green energy of the space and support it needs to grow.
Ontario has good reason to drop its nuclear plans: the cost of nuclear plants has more than doubled, electricity demand is falling.
The McGuinty’s government’s recently passed Green Energy Act could also spur a green energy revolution if the government says ‘no’ to buying new nuclear reactors.
An Energy [R]evolution would mean no nukes
Greenpeace has produced an Energy [R]evolution scenario for Canada that shows how this country can use current technology to make the transition to clean, renewable energy without coal or nuclear. If implemented, this scenario would dramatically cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The scenario shows how Canada can play the role it should in helping to prevent catastrophic climate change. International climate scientists say global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015 and then drop significantly if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Through the Don’t Nuke Green Energy campaign, Greenpeace has been giving Minister Smitherman that advice for months. The government’s new delay also goes a long way in supporting what Greenpeace and other environmental groups have been saying for years: that nuclear is dirty, dangerous, and expensive.
Minister Smitherman’s acknowledging the high cost of nuclear power is a step in the right direction. But he’s immediately taken a step backward by also asking the Harper government to help pay for new nuclear plants. That’s just a way of passing the buck.
The best next step for Minister Smitherman is to develop cleaner, cheaper and less risky options for electricity, such as conservation, renewables and local generation.
The Problem is nuclear
Earlier in June, Greenpeace and 12 more of Canada’s largest environmental organizations asked Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to replace the Pickering nuclear station with green power instead of buying new expensive replacement reactors.
In an open-letter, the environmental groups also told the Premier that the biggest barrier standing in the way of developing green power in Ontario is his government’s decision to reserve 50 per cent of the electricity grid for nuclear generation, which robs green energy of the space and support it needs to grow.
Ontario has good reason to drop its nuclear plans: the cost of nuclear plants has more than doubled, electricity demand is falling.
The McGuinty’s government’s recently passed Green Energy Act could also spur a green energy revolution if the government says ‘no’ to buying new nuclear reactors.
An Energy [R]evolution would mean no nukes
Greenpeace has produced an Energy [R]evolution scenario for Canada that shows how this country can use current technology to make the transition to clean, renewable energy without coal or nuclear. If implemented, this scenario would dramatically cut Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The scenario shows how Canada can play the role it should in helping to prevent catastrophic climate change. International climate scientists say global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2015 and then drop significantly if the world is to avoid catastrophic climate change.
