Pylons and the Green movement

[pozorvlak]

[All opinions stated herein are my own: I do not speak for SGP or any other environmental organisation.]

The journalist George Monbiot (whose work I have long admired) has caused a lot of spluttering among my Green friends this morning with this article, in which he argues that the Green movement should throw its weight behind anti-pylon campaigns

Comments

[pozorvlak]

All Progress Is Bad, and that wouldn't we all like to go back to subsistence farming?

I've yet to meet anyone like that, though that doesn't mean they don't exist. I've met lots who advocate (and practice) community-owned gardens and the like, but growing your own vegetables is hardly a return to universal subsistence farming. In general, I see quite a lot of enthusiasm for technology among Greens. But my experience may be atypical.

I've only read some of "Without Hot Air", though I was (mostly) impressed by what I read. Finishing it is high on my to-do list. While we're on the subject, can you recommend a good book-length treatment of nuclear fission and its use in power generation, the various reactor designs, proliferation and disposal issues?

In general, I agree that the Green movement could and should be more rigorous about running the numbers on its proposals. Though that's true of every political movement, and I think most are worse than us! And it's very difficult if your budget and staffing levels are as low as that of most environmental groups.

[danieldwilliam]

If you haven’t already read it the Sustainable Development Commissions - Role of Nuclear in a Low Carbon Economy and the papers around the BERR nuclear white paper have lots of good references to stuff on the technology.

[ext_447905]

As you may have guessed, I was in a rather cynical mood last night...

More seriously, there's definitely a split between the "conservation" movement, which would like to preserve the countryside as it is / was / might have been in an idealised version of the past, and what might be called "progressive environmentalism" - the idea that technological progress should be harnessed in such a way as to minimise its negative environmental impact, and replace older, more harmful technologies. The Cambridge area attracts a lot of "conservationists", it seems to me.

I can't recommend a nuclear text as such, though I would recommend looking up the Pebble Bed reactor as a reactor design that is intrinsically resistant to coolant failures and has low proliferation issues.