Germany: Fighting Climate Change And Phasing Out Nuclear Power Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin

[kristopher]

In response to (nuclear industry generated) criticisms of the path Germany is following as articulated in a recent WP article:

Germany: Fighting Climate Change And Phasing Out Nuclear Power Are Two Sides Of The Same Coin
By Climate Guest Blogger on Apr 27, 2012 at 2:26 pm
by Arne Jungjohann

Recently, the editorial board of the Washington Post asked if the world can fight global warming without nuclear power, looking to Germany and Japan for the answer.

Both countries are known for a nuclear shutdown path. In Japan, only one of the 54 nuclear reactors currently remains in operation. Germany has closed eights reactors following the nuclear catastrophe of Fukushima in March 2011 and the remaining nine are scheduled to be closed by 2022.

...

If you look at the most recent emissions data, however, the opposite is happening. Germany reduced its carbon emissions in 2011 by 2.1 percent despite the nuclear phase out. How can that be?

The cut in greenhouse gases was mainly reached due to an accelerated transition to renewable energies and a warm winter. In addition, the EU emissions trading system capped all emissions from the power sector. While eight nuclear power plants were shut down, solar power output increased by 60 percent. In 2011 alone, 7.5 gigawatts of solar were installed. By the end of last year, renewable energies provided more than 20 percent of overall electricity.

...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/04/27/472713/germany-fighting-climate-change-and-phasing-out-nuclear-power-are-two-sides-of-the-same-coin/?mobile=nc



Last year in the US, with the largest nuclear fleet in the world, carbon emissions increased 3%.

[AndyTiedye]

1. Germany Has the Best Railroad System in the World

People in Germany can take the train practically anywhere. The trains are fast, and they run on time.

In the USA, we mostly have to drive, because there are so few trains, and not very many buses either.
Most of us live miles from the nearest transit of any kind.
What little transit we have mostly runs on diesel instead of electricity, too.

[kristopher]

2. I loved the trains in Japan.

I was able to get in an extra 3 hours of reading a day versus if I had been driving.
However they really require a certain, fairly high population density to be viable. A country can make it public transit work almost everywhere if they really want to, but like so many other things we have to go our own way in the name of "freedom". I actually heard Limbaugh yesterday saying that Obama hated oil because it gives us "freedom" and he hates "freedom".

How do you get around that kind of stupidity?

[AndyTiedye]

3. Is That What the Wingnuts Mean by "They Hate Us for Our Freedom"?

or maybe the fact that our "freedom" always seems to be somewhere under someone else's sand?

[kristopher]

4. Crazy isn't it?

You could write a book about the way they pervert the word for selfish gain.