Posts by John Clarke

UK nuke-power plans leak early

Why the govt. is so keen on new nukes

The Atomic Weapons Establishment (www.awe.co.uk) has been advertising for tritium processing specialists since before the official decision to build a new generation of nuclear weapons. (Check out their web site and many of the previous editions of "New Scientist".)

Tritium is absolutely required for advanced nuclear weapons but it decays with a 12.3 year half-life. So the bombs require constant topping up. Tritium is made by exposing lithium to a large neutron flux - i.e. in nuclear reactors.

The new generation of nuclear "power" plants are required as tritium factories.

It is no coincidence that the decision to build a new generation of nuclear reactors was announced less than a week after the announcement of the decision to build the new generation of nuclear bombs.

The higher electricity price of nuclear power and waste managment problems are simply disguised subsidies for the MOD.

Guardian blogborg takes aim at global warming

Don't you hate stupid people?

Long life light bulbs *save* you money - because they use fewer resources to produce than the 8 incandescents they replace, and, mostly, because they use vastly less energy.

Yes, they contain about 4mg of mercury. That turns out to be less than coal fired power stations emit generating the extra electricity incandescents require.

So mock all you want, but if you're not using long life light bulbs you're simply throwing your money away. And needlessly messing up the environment all the while.

Or look at it like this: the pay-back time of investing in a long-life bulb is about 9 months. So using incandescents is just taking a bet with yourself that you'll die within 9 months.