Energy

In Germany, subsidies for renewable energies are paid for by energy users. Renewable energy suppliers can feed their production into the grid at guaranteed high prices; the additional cost of green electricity is passed on to private and business energy users.

Politicians love ‘creating’ jobs, especially when these jobs serve a ‘greater good,’ such as fighting climate change. Greens leader Bob Brown recently praised Germany’s renewable energy policy.

In many European countries nuclear technology is experiencing an unexpected renaissance. It is likely that nuclear power will play a significant role in Europe’s energy mix for decades to come.

With giant uranium reserves under our feet, Australia should seriously consider whether it wants to be part of the new nuclear age or content itself with just providing nuclear fuel to others.

Properly assessing the risks of nuclear power alone is not enough to decide whether we should opt for this technology. But without proper risk analysis we will not be able to make rational choices at all.

science vs superstition – the case for a new scientific enlightenment challenges the common belief that scientific progress in today’s world inevitably entails an element of danger or moral uncertainty. While many people seem to lack the vision of a genuinely better future, the authors of this collection of essays believe that it is time to make the case for a more positive attitude towards the future – a future that is made better through science.

In truth, Germany’s wind-energy promotion has not only been economically damaging, even the ecological gains are a chimera. If wind really is the energy of the future it must prove itself in the market without subsidies. And this has yet to happen. Decisions are being made on the basis of artificial models with hidden costs for taxpayers and consumers.