WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.450 Three reasons why we should stop using nuclear energy. 00:00:03.450 --> 00:00:06.298 One: Nuclear weapons proliferation. 00:00:06.298 --> 00:00:10.783 Nuclear technology made a violent entrance onto the world stage. 00:00:10.783 --> 00:00:15.052 Just one year after the world’s first-ever nuclear test explosion in 1944, 00:00:15.052 --> 00:00:18.470 two large cities were destroyed by just two single bombs. 00:00:18.470 --> 00:00:23.504 After that, reactor technology slowly evolved as a means of generating electricity, 00:00:23.504 --> 00:00:27.335 but it’s always been intimately connected with nuclear weapons technology. 00:00:27.335 --> 00:00:30.123 It’s nearly impossible to develop nuclear weapons 00:00:30.123 --> 00:00:32.245 without access to reactor technology. 00:00:32.245 --> 00:00:35.390 In fact, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:38.215 serves the purpose of spreading nuclear reactor technology 00:00:38.215 --> 00:00:41.495 without spreading nuclear weapons with limited success. 00:00:41.495 --> 00:00:44.894 In 40 years, five countries have developed their own weapons 00:00:44.894 --> 00:00:46.991 with the help of reactor technology. 00:00:46.991 --> 00:00:49.492 The fact of the matter is that it can be very hard 00:00:49.492 --> 00:00:52.398 to distinguish a covert nuclear weapons program 00:00:52.398 --> 00:00:54.968 from the peaceful use of nuclear energy. 00:00:54.968 --> 00:00:59.591 In the 1970s, the big nuclear powers were happily selling peaceful technology 00:00:59.591 --> 00:01:03.599 to smaller countries, which then developed weapons of their own. 00:01:03.599 --> 00:01:09.154 The road to deadly nuclear weapons is always paved with peaceful reactors. 00:01:09.154 --> 00:01:12.008 Two: Nuclear waste and pollution. 00:01:12.008 --> 00:01:15.371 Spent nuclear fuel is not only radioactive, 00:01:15.371 --> 00:01:19.756 but also contains extremely poisonous chemical elements like plutonium. 00:01:19.756 --> 00:01:24.529 It loses its harmfulness only slowly over several tens of thousands of years. 00:01:24.529 --> 00:01:27.922 And there is also a process called reprocessing, 00:01:27.922 --> 00:01:31.635 which means the extraction of plutonium from spent nuclear fuel. 00:01:31.635 --> 00:01:33.537 It can be used for two purposes: 00:01:33.537 --> 00:01:36.554 to build nuclear weapons or to use it as new fuel. 00:01:36.554 --> 00:01:38.934 But hardly any of it is used as fuel, 00:01:38.934 --> 00:01:41.640 because we don’t have the right kind of reactors for that. 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:45.202 A milligram will kill you; a few kilograms make an atomic bomb; 00:01:45.202 --> 00:01:49.872 and even an inconspicuous country like Germany literally has tons of the stuff, 00:01:49.872 --> 00:01:54.427 just lying around, because reprocessing sounded like a good idea decades ago. 00:01:54.427 --> 00:01:56.334 And where will all the waste go? 00:01:56.334 --> 00:02:00.162 After dumping it into the ocean was forbidden, we’ve tried to bury it. 00:02:00.162 --> 00:02:02.933 But we can’t find a place where it will definitely stay secure 00:02:02.933 --> 00:02:04.727 for tens of thousands of years. 00:02:04.727 --> 00:02:08.337 Over 30 countries operate nearly 400 reactors, 00:02:08.337 --> 00:02:11.394 managing several hundred thousands of tons of nuclear waste 00:02:11.394 --> 00:02:14.456 and only one is currently serious about 00:02:14.456 --> 00:02:18.621 opening a permanent civilian waste storage: tiny Finland. 00:02:18.621 --> 00:02:21.691 Three: Accidents and disasters. 00:02:21.691 --> 00:02:26.018 Over 60 years of nuclear power usage, there have been seven major accidents 00:02:26.018 --> 00:02:29.528 in reactors or facilities dealing with nuclear waste. 00:02:29.528 --> 00:02:31.481 Three of those were mostly contained, 00:02:31.481 --> 00:02:36.146 but four of them released significant amounts of radioactivity into the environment. 00:02:36.146 --> 00:02:42.925 In 1957, 1987, and 2011, large areas of land in Russia, Ukraine, and Japan 00:02:42.925 --> 00:02:47.031 were rendered unfit for human habitation for decades to come. 00:02:47.031 --> 00:02:51.494 The number of deaths is highly disputed, but probably lies in the thousands. 00:02:51.494 --> 00:02:55.435 These disasters happened with nuclear reactors of very different types, 00:02:55.435 --> 00:02:58.799 in very different countries, and several decades apart. 00:02:58.799 --> 00:03:01.740 Looking at the numbers, we may as well ask ourselves. 00:03:01.740 --> 00:03:07.553 Are 10% of the world’s energy supply worth a devastating disaster every 30 years? 00:03:07.553 --> 00:03:13.110 Would 30% be worth another Fukushima or Chernobyl somewhere on Earth every 10 years? 00:03:13.110 --> 00:03:18.081 What area would have to be contaminated, so we say "no more"? 00:03:18.081 --> 00:03:19.630 Where is the line? 00:03:19.630 --> 00:03:22.601 So, should we use nuclear energy? 00:03:22.601 --> 00:03:25.118 The risks may outweigh the benefits 00:03:25.118 --> 00:03:27.564 and maybe we should stop looking into this direction 00:03:27.564 --> 00:03:29.834 and drop this technology for good. 00:03:29.834 --> 00:03:32.113 If you want to hear the other side of the argument 00:03:32.113 --> 00:03:35.776 or a short introduction to nuclear energy, click here. 00:03:35.776 --> 00:03:39.192 Our channel has a new sponsor: Audible.com. 00:03:39.192 --> 00:03:42.523 If you use the URL Audible.com/nutshell 00:03:42.523 --> 00:03:45.605 you can get a free audiobook and support our channel. 00:03:45.605 --> 00:03:48.864 Producing our videos takes a lot of time 00:03:48.864 --> 00:03:52.059 and we fill a lot of it by listening to audiobooks. 00:03:52.059 --> 00:03:56.266 For a really entertaining book, we recommend “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer. 00:03:56.266 --> 00:03:59.963 He’s a great writer, and the story is really absorbing and true. 00:03:59.963 --> 00:04:03.866 Go to Audible.com/nutshell to get the book for free. 00:04:03.866 --> 00:04:08.611 Thanks a lot to Audible for supporting our channel and to you for watching!