Nuclear 2.0: Why a green future needs nuclear power

By Mark Lynas

Everything you thought you knew about nuclear power is wrong. This is just as well, according to Mark Lynas in Nuclear 2.0, because nuclear energy is essential to avoid catastrophic global warming. Using the latest world energy statistics, Lynas shows that with wind and solar still at only about 1 percent of global primary energy, asking renewables to deliver all the world's power is "dangerously delusional". Moreover, there is no possibility of worldwide energy use decreasing, when the developing world is fast extricating itself from poverty and adding the equivalent of a new Brazil to the global electricity consumption each year. The anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s and 80s succeeded only in making the world more dependent on fossil fuels: its history is "not lit by sunshine, but shrouded in coal smoke". Instead of making the same mistake again, all those who want to see a low-carbon future need to join forces. The books concludes with a model for an Apollo Program-style combined investment in wind, solar and nuclear power.

• Language: English
• Publisher: UIT Cambridge
• Release date: Jan 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781906860462

Mark Lynas

Mark Lynas is an activist, journalist and traveller. He was editor of the website www.oneworld.net and has made many appearances in the press and TV as a commentator on environmental issues. He is the author of High Tide and Six Degrees.

Reviews for Nuclear 2.0

[Eyal D Morag · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When European countries give new life to Coal Power after the Tsar Vladimir the II (Puțin) close the gas pipeline it is clear that closing nuclear power plant was a mistake. Mark Lynas is in line with George Monbiot on nuclear power.
Nuclear will not save us alone. The current technology can't provide all the energy we need. But we need to use every tool for reducing emissions.