SEPP Science Editorials

Index of Editorials Foreword	All Editorials for 2020 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Categories Subcategories Antarctic Warming Skepticism [2] Book Review [3] Climate Change CO2 Emissions [1] Climate Models Uncertainty [2] Climate Science Climate Cycles [1] Climate Sensitivity [1] Holes [1] Thermal History [1] Unsolved Problems [1] Energy Issues American Power Act [1] Clean and Sustainable [1] Nuclear Waste Storage [1] Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) [1] Environmentalism Surrogate Religion [1] Foreword Energy Primer for Kids [1] Geo-Engineering Applications [2] Global Climate - International French Academy [1] Global Warming Anthropogenic Global Warming (AGW) [6] Confusion [1] Economics [1] General [2] Greenhouse Gases [1] Hockeystick [4] Ice Cores [1] Junkscience [9] Oceans' Role [2] Skepticism [1] Sun's Role [2] Health Issues Second Hand Smoke [1] Measurements Arctic Sea Ice [1] Atmospheric Temperature Data [2] Sea Surface Temperature [1] Surface Data [2] Misinformation Statistics Misuse [1] Modern Empirical Science v. Medieval Science [1] NIPCC China [1] Nuclear Fuel Supplies [1] Organizations Climate Research Unit (CRU) [1] International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [2] Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change (NIPCC) [1] UK Met Office [1] World Meteorological Organization (WMO) [1] Political Issues Climate Realism [1] Climategate [3] Independent Cross Check of Temperature Data [1] Report IPCC Assessment Report [2] NOAA State of the Climate 2009 [1] NRC-NAS Advancing the Science of Climate Change [1] Sea-Level Rise West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) [1] Alarmism [1] Types of Energy Nuclear Energy [1]
15-May-10 Foreword to Energy Primer for Kids
SEPP SCIENCE EDITORIAL #15-2010 (in TWTW May 15, 2010) *S. Fred Singer, Chairman and President , Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP)* Foreword to Energy Primer for Kids May 15, 2010 Foreword to Energy Primer for Kids by Vladislav Bevc We are fortunate to live at a time when energy is plentiful and relatively cheap. A century ago, electric power was just becoming available, and what a difference it has made in our lives. A hundred years from now, many of our supplies of fossil fuels, and especially oil, will be near depletion and very costly. But we will never really run out of energy itself, thanks to nuclear reactors. Getting energy is risky business. Coal miners die in accidents, gas explosions kill people, oil spills cause environmental damage. But it's a price worth paying. Thanks to energy, we live longer, healthier, and more comfortable lives - and not only in the developed countries. Unfortunately, there are those who would make energy more costly and even ration it - in the mistaken belief that this would avert an imagined climate disaster. I have no doubt that the world will soon overcome this mistaken notion; but in the meantime it will cause much economic harm. There is no need to invest in costly and unreliable energy sources, such as wind and solar, which have to be heavily subsidized. Certainly, the "hydrogen economy" is a huge boondoggle, and so are most biofuel schemes. I am confident that nuclear energy, in one form or other, will sustain our civilization indefinitely - if we can overcome the opposition, which is based on unreasonable and unrealistic fears. View The Week That Was in which this editorial appeared. Return to Top of Page