Nature, Energy and Society—A Scientific Study of the Options Facing Civilisation Today

Abstract

The nations of the world plan to stop burning carbon fuels but have not fixed on any replacement. For social and economic confidence, they need to share a proper picture of the options. The science is simply explained and not in doubt, though widely misunderstood. Energy sources belong to three distinct groups: renewable, chemical and nuclear. Since human life began, it has adopted each of these in turn. In the past, initial disruptions have been more than off-set by the rise in human values that followed. Now, to complete the final step, we confront those who would look backward to the age of renewables. Instead, the world should look forward to a heavy dependence on nuclear energy with a confidence informed by natural science and openly shared in society.

Keywords

• energy density
• reliability
• natural science
• environment
• resilience
• radiation protection