Controlling the Atom in the 21st Century

O'very, David P.,Paine, Christopher E,Reicher, Dan W.

ISBN 10: 0813388163 / ISBN 13: 9780813388168

Edité par Westview Press, 1994

A propos de cet article

hardcover book no dust jacket, light wear to cover and book edges.

N° de réf. du vendeur mon0000007500

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Controlling the Atom in the 21st Century
• Éditeur: Westview Press
• Date de parution: 1994
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0813388163
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780813388168
• Reliure: hardcover
• État de l'article: Very Good

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Bringing together a diverse group of experts, this book examines the critical problems involved in the effective control of military and civilian applications of nuclear energy. The solutions proposed differ significantly from the arrangements and practices established during the Cold War era. The authors offer pragmatic approaches that should minimize environmental and security risks from nuclear energy while ensuring an open, fair-minded assessment of its benefits. Five decades after the first splitting of the atom, the military and civilian applications of nuclear energy have reached a critical juncture, providing an unprecedented opportunity to reexamine both the national and international mechanisms for controlling nuclear energy.The disintegration of the Soviet Union has eliminated the need to maintain and modernize a large nuclear arsenal and sharpened the focus on horizontal proliferation problems, such as Iraqs clandestine nuclear weapons program, civil plutonium production, the potential loss of central Russian control over the former Soviet nuclear arsenal, and North Koreas threatened defection from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In addition, both the U.S. and Russia are faced with the staggering environmental legacy of fifty years of nuclear weapons production. On the civilian side, utilities have canceled or deferred plans to build more than 100 nuclear power plants since the early 1970s in response to nuclear safety concerns, limited on-site waste storage capacity, the absence of a permanent high-level nuclear waste repository, and high capital and operating costs compared with other energy sources. A reasoned reevaluation of military and civilian applications of nuclear energy is being thwarted by antiquated, undemocratic Cold War policies that polarize citizens, industry, and government into militant pro- and anti-nuclear camps, leading to gridlock in solving such key problems as the disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Written by a diverse group of experts, Controlling the Atom in the 21st Century offers an alternative problem-solving approach to these issuesone that seeks to minimize the environmental and security risks posed by nuclear energy while ensuring a more open, fair-minded assessment of its potential benefits as an energy source.