Yes, it's "too bad" the nuclear industry will lose all it's credibility. Have there been studies on improving nuclear plant security? reduce the impact of a possible meltdown?
I think a lot of what's missing from the roadmap for nuclear power is the difference between a tractable and an intractable problem. A faulty part in an aircraft is a tractable problem; it can be overcome by design. Nuclear fuel, once manufactured, must be carefully tended well through its radioactive lifespan, which is generally hundreds of years. This is a conceptual problem, not a technological one. You're dealing with a fuel that is inherently unsafe, and when it goes wrong, it goes wrong in a very expensive way.
@Rich, Can't argue with your position about the wider/larger opportunities available in Green versus nuclear. Since that blog was posted Germany has announced it will close all of its nuclear plants within 12 to 15 years and replace their combined output with alternate energy. That's another huge opportunity that just opened up to suppliers into the Green market and I suspect that wave will only keep building.
@Rich, you have quite a valid point. Instead of looking for gernerating more and more energy we should look for energy efficient and sustainable building and electronic designs. Simple changes in our lifestyle can make a huge difference and if we can cut the consuption then it would means that we would automatically build less power plants (either green or black).
Well, i am of the other opinion. If a fiight crashes then it makes no sense to abondon traveling by air instead we should make sure that the incident does not happen next time. Nuclear is still by far the cheapest and most affordable alternative energy source than oil. It is good that government spend more on green technologies but ultimately its consumer who is paying the high costs.
I like Bolaji's supply chain spin on it, but I would add that I think there's a lot more opportunity, for more companies, in supporting locally produced, greener energy technologies. After all, how many steam valves are you going to sell? There aren't that many nuclear power plants around to sell to. But, how many solar installations and support equipment could you sell? A lot, I'll bet.
According to law of conservation of energy, Energy can be neither be created nor destroyed. It can be transformed from one form to another. In our surroundings, there are lots of energy sources available, but we are not able to use or preserve it in a proper way. Solar energy can be generated from sunlight, which is available throughout the year in most part of the world (I guess). Energy can also be generated from Wind, Sea Tidal wave, Hydro electric energy from water etc. All nations are blessed with one or other form of natural resources for generating energy from these sources. All these energy sources are somewhat in safer side too.
Most of the countries are considering nuclear fission and fusions are the massive source of energy. I agree that they can cater the mass requirement of energy in a short span of time, but it’s too dangerous also. We had seen the dangerous side in Japan and Russia sometimes back.
As per todays news here in Indian newspapers, Germany has declared that it will shut down all its Nuclear power facilities in the next ten years. This is a very serious action from one of the advanced Uropian nations and shows that the world is finally waking up to the likely disasters the Nuclear power can cause just by the accidents. Germnay has also taken serious note of how a technologically advanced Nation like Japan has failed to contain the effects of such a disaster.
This brings the need for every nation to look at their Nuclear power generation program and make suitable amendments to curtail or stop further expansion of Nuclear power capacities.
The companies supplying the equipment, components , specially for the nuclear power industry have to plan their strategies to exit this business in a phased manner or atleast be prepared to bear the consequences of a disruption in their business in the long term perspective
Whose idea was it to sell equipment that never shuts off, but only goes into energy-wasting, so-called "sleep" mode?
Whose idea was it to seal windows shut in office buildings, so that powerful fans have to constantly run to generate breezes that are blowing around outside for free?
I could go on, but you get the idea about energy wasting designs.
I don't think supply line decision makers are going to be able to change these problems. The supply line could lead right to the devil, and that's where it will stay if the money is good.
Green is good, but what is green today is not tomorrow. A few decades ago there was green movement “save the tree” and use plastic bags instead of paper. Now it is just opposite “use paper” because plastic pollutes for long time. Today wind energy is green I can see that many birds will be killed if we have massive structures to pickup the winds. Then a few decades later windmills will not be a green technology. Also, many countries will experiment with different laws. Outlawing nuclear energy is simply bad. We have to put science to work to make it safer. Outlawing movement is live and well. A digression here: Malta (Southern European country in the Mediterranean) has outlawed divorces long time ago.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
To save this item to your list of favorite EBN content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
