Yes.

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http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19187551-31037,00.html

SOARING oil prices would push Australia more quickly towards the "inevitable" use of nuclear power, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Mr Howard has also indicated the Government might have to overhaul its 18-month-old energy policy which has a heavy focus on the continuing use of fossil fuels for power generation.

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They even produce some radioactive waste, apparently.

Eh? Where's the supporting evidence of this?

The use of either nuclear power or alternate 'green' energies will only become cost effective when we, as consumers, increase our demand for it. Whilst we continue to pull up at a service station and pump petrol into our cars, whilst we are content to have our electricity supplied by fossil fuels, whilst we regard solar power as too expensive to install on our homes - the earth we are supposedly holding in trust (CJH) will continue to deteriorate.

Change is driven by demand in any economic propostition.

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I heard it from a speaker at a presentation I went to on nuclear power.

We should be taxing carbon emissions to force consumers to take the negative impact on the environment into account.

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http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19215671-31037,00.html

AUSTRALIA should not adopt nuclear technology and must focus on other energy sources, Opposition treasury spokesman Wayne Swan said today.

"We are a country with an abundance of energy, we're are optimistic about what can occur with clean coal technologies, we have an abundant supply of gas – I don't see the need for Australia to go down that road."

http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19215602-31037,00.html

AUSTRALIA should not shy away from considering uranium enrichment, Environment Minister Ian Campbell said today.

http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,19210570-31037,00.html

FOREIGN Minister Alexander Downer has opened a new front in the nuclear debate, saying Australia needed to consider to whether it should enrich uranium.

Prime Minister John Howard has called for a "full-blooded" debate on nuclear power and uranium mining.

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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,19414391-29277,00.html

NUCLEAR power would cost twice as much as electricity produced from coal, while the world's viable uranium supplies could run out within 24 years, a new report has found.

The report also found that while there was 4.3 million tonnes, or 60 years' worth, of unknown uranium resources, only 1.7 million tonnes, or 24 years' worth, was economically viable to extract, the paper reported.

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Do you know how much natural radioactivity is released by burning coal? There are vast quatities of waste (gas and solid) that is generated. It wouldn't have to be very concentrated to exceed that produced by nuclear.

Also, there are lots of nuclear reactors around. Maybe a lot of them are privately run. But many companies wouldn't go near it because of the political issues (permission etc), not necessarily the economic issues.

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Considering huge subsidies (both direct and indirect) for the nuclear power industry, it is quite difficult to come up with true costs. Who will pay for long-term waste disposal, even if it is possible? How can we put a price done on the damage caused by Chernobyl?

I do not think nuclear power can ever be truly cost-efficient, but I image the industry and its supporters can come up with some figures to show that it could be. The situation is similar to that of petroleum; I saw an article that says gasoline would have to sell for $20 US per gallon to truly cover all the costs involved--including not only extraction, production, and distribution, but also the cost of wars (which themselves have many hidden costs) and environmental clean-up.

The odds against a major nuclear accident are slim, yet the cost involved in preventing one is great. If there were a major accident of the dimensions of Chernobyl, the cost would be much higher.

Can nuclear energy be made cost effecient? No! 

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 [ accepted]