Energy security - The time for debate has long gone

THE British government yesterday approved a new generation of nuclear power stations, arguing that evidence for the move was “compelling”.

In Ireland, Energy Minister Eamon Ryan suggested that we should open a debate on nuclear power so “all the issues can be brought into the open”.

One of these positions suggests a hard-nosed,bottom-line approach to a world demanding ever-greater quantities of energy and a diminishing supply from traditional sources. The other suggests a position based on arguments and hopes that have yet to prove adequate to the challenges ahead.