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Nuclear Energy | Munk Debates

July 19, 2022

Nuclear Energy

Be it resolved, we need more nuclear energy now.

Guests
John Gorman
Martin Cohen

About this episode

The demand for electricity in the world is increasing rapidly and nuclear power is seen by many as a great option to meet those needs sustainably and safely. Building nuclear reactors is capital-intensive but a large project provides jobs for thousands of people and the reactors can last for more than 30 years. Many argue nuclear energy is safe, efficient and reliable and it will be much harder to fight climate change without it. Still, nuclear energy accounts for only 10 percent of global electricity generation and memories of Chernobyl and Fukushima are fresh in the minds of many. How and where to safely dispose of radioactive waste is a concern for many who also argue the environmental impacts like water security, mining, milling and enriching of uranium do not make nuclear power a sustainable energy source.

 

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Guests

John Gorman

"I believe the world needs more nuclear because it is a key part of the low carbon puzzle. It provides reliable, sustainable and predictable base load power generation that can complement the variability of wind and solar.”

John Gorman

"I believe the world needs more nuclear because it is a key part of the low carbon puzzle. It provides reliable, sustainable and predictable base load power generation that can complement the variability of wind and solar.”

John Gorman is President & CEO of Canadian Nuclear Association, past President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) and a Director on the board of the Energy Council of Canada (ECC). John served as Canada’s Designate to the International Energy Agency’s Executive Committee (PVPS) and was a Founder of the Canadian Council on Renewable Electricity (CanCORE). He’s using this experience to secure a leading role for nuclear energy at the heart of Canada’s energy transition. 

Before joining CanSIA, he was the Senior Vice President of Empower Energies, an innovative, global integrator of energy systems. He has served as a director on the boards of numerous community and corporate organizations, including one of the nation’s largest electric utilities. 

John has been recognized as one of Canada’s CLEAN50 and is the recipient of the “40 Under 40” business award for excellence in business practices. He was awarded the designation of Climate Project Ambassador by Nobel Laureate Al Gore in 2008.

Martin Cohen

“The thing about nuclear is it's a zombie energy program. It died when it was invented. It served no purpose when it was invented. The reality of nuclear for all the greenwashing that goes on nowadays, the reality is it was a cover for producing uranium for nuclear weapons.”

Martin Cohen

“The thing about nuclear is it's a zombie energy program. It died when it was invented. It served no purpose when it was invented. The reality of nuclear for all the greenwashing that goes on nowadays, the reality is it was a cover for producing uranium for nuclear weapons.”

Martin Cohen is an author specializing in popular books in philosophy, social science and politics. His writing ranges widely as he likes to make connections between different areas and ideas. As well as The Doomsday Machine: the World’s Most Dangerous Fuel, a book that Matthew Wald described in the New York Times as a “polemic against the atom”, but Graham Nash, of Rock & Roll fame, defended vigorously as “a well-reasoned and thoughtful perspective on the real costs of nuclear power”, other books include Paradigm Shift: How Expert Opinions Keep Changing on Life, the Universe and Everything, two ‘for Dummies’ books, and even a  look at food science, called, I Think Therefor I Eat, which blends philosophy and food offering surprising insights into why everything we eat makes us fat, and seems to have more to do with laboratories than farms. He is a Visiting Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) as well as a Visiting Lecturer in English and Social Science at the University of Pau (France). He is also Editor of The Philosopher, one of the world’s oldest philosophical magazines with a tradition of writing "philosophy for all." 

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