SuttaCentral
Sure, but I don’t think getting the fissile material is the issue. We have plenty of uranium and can either produce it ourselves or get it from the US. The problem is getting the Australian public to accept it. Which is why it has to be taken slowly, step by step.
Obviously I’m just vibing here, but I dunno, it feels like something is in the wind.
I gather even replacing the reactor at Arrival Heights (South of Sydney), which is crucial for generating isotopes used in medical procedures in Australia and NZ and is also important for materials research (along with the synchrotron in Melbourne) was controversial.
Yeah, and that’s just a tiny research facility. It was also used by Mark Allon to carbon-date the Gandhari texts.
This would not be the first time nuclear power plants were proposed as a cover for nuclear weapons in Australia.
In 1968, ex-RAAF pilot Gorton became Prime Minister. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) was already in the works. However, a big supporter of a homegrown nuclear deterrent, Gorton wanted to Australia to be on the “brink of manufacture” of a weapon, says Prof Reynolds.
“If the whole world goes pear shaped, the NPT falls apart and rogue states start shooting weapons, he wanted to know if we [could build this bomb] quickly.”
Gorton gave the green light to Jervis Bay. Work began on the plant which was ostensibly for power generation.
Then, in 1971, Gorton was rolled and the Australian atomic dream died, explained Richard Broinowski of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, in a 2006 paper. His replacement, Billy McMahon did not support the plans and construction ceased on the plant.
“As Treasurer, [McMahon] had been persuaded by officials that the ‘cover’ devised for the Jervis Bay reactor lacked credibility, since electricity generated there would be double the cost of electricity generated from Australian coal,” Mr Broinowski says.
As in, “When the wind blows”?
For some reason we got bombarded (no pun intended) with post apocalyptic novels when I was in late primary school - 1988, 1989. I really did enjoy Louise Lawrence’s “Children of the dust” and read it again a few years ago. The other one I remember was Victor Kelleher’s “Taronga”.
Perhaps we should just stop worrying and learn to love the bomb?
Ha ha yes, the choices do feel rather … stark.
And it may be the only man-made energy source that has strict waste management requirements enforced.
Some of the prominent renewable energy sources are becoming a severe environmental issue in this regard.
This commentary may be of interest:
For decades, we’ve idolized the college dropout founder. The genius who leaves a top university, armed only with vision and a laptop, to disrupt an industry and become a billionaire. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg—these are names that have shaped the modern definition of disruptive innovation. But in climatetech, where the problems are physical and the solutions to reversing climate change demand serious scientific rigor, a new kind of founder is emerging: the PhD founder.
…
Software won’t stop wildfires. An app can’t pull carbon from the air. To decarbonize steel, reinvent cement, or scale direct air capture, we need real-world hardware solutions. That’s why so many climatetech startups are being founded by scientists and engineers—because the solutions require fundamental breakthroughs in physics, chemistry, and engineering. And the urgency of the climate crisis has turned the lab into the new startup launchpad.
Renewables make up over 50% of American electricity:
Aussies support India & Nepal: