Great interview from The Japan Times:
Global warming more dangerous than N-plants
Jeffrey Sachs, a U.S. economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, has published a new book titled “The Age of Sustainable Development” as part of his long-running commitment to exploring such worldwide problems as poverty and global warming.
During a recent visit to Japan, Sachs spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun about what it would take to achieve sustainable development. The following are excerpts from the interview:
The Yomiuri Shimbun: What is sustainable development?
Jeffrey Sachs: It means society should have a holistic approach that combines economic, social and environmental objectives. Our economic success has been very real during the past generation. The world society has not paid enough attention to social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
And the money quote:
Q: Nuclear power has various risks, but threats of climate change are much more serious?
A: That is exactly right. Climate change’s danger is great. What scientists tell us is that by the end of this century, if we don’t take strong measures, the Earth’s climate will change to be in a condition unlike anything that humanity has ever experienced — with many more extreme events, with much hotter temperatures, with much more frequency of typhoons, droughts, floods and with the risks of very significant rise of sea levels — which could create catastrophes of many of the world’s greatest cities.
And if opponents of nuclear power say nuclear power should not be used, they have the responsibility to show the alternative. Germany is closing down its nuclear power, but it’s burning more U.S. coal exported to Germany. And I find that really unacceptable. It’s bad not only for Germany but for the world.
And in China, people are suffering massive lung disease and premature death from all the air pollution coming from coal plants. A scientist estimated that more than one million people have died as a result of coal-fired power plants, whereas with nuclear plants, the number of deaths has been very small.
Speaking truth to power. Now if he could just wake up to the realities of anthropogenic global warming (very overstated - CO2 is our friend, not our enemy) and get familiar with the LFTR reactor technologies (link to five minute YouTube presentation), he would be in a much better place.