Kilowatt Ours Interviews
Dr. Arjun Makhijani -Nuclear Physicist, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research
Arjun Makhijani, President of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, holds a Ph.D. in engineering (specialization: nuclear fusion) from the University of California at Berkeley. He has produced many studies and articles on nuclear fuel cycle related issues, including weapons production, testing, and nuclear waste, over the past twenty years. He is the principal author of the first study ever done (completed in 1971) on energy conservation potential in the U.S. economy. Most recently, Dr, Makhijani has authored Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy (RDR Books and IEER Press, 2007), the first analysis of a transition to a U.S. economy based completely on renewable energy, without any use of fossil fuels or nuclear power. He is the principal editor of Nuclear Wastelands and the principal author of Mending the Ozone Hole, both published by MIT Press.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part One
Chapter Five
- We do studies on Global Warming and security of plutonium resources.
- Nuclear Power has been the wrong way to go. While some nuclear power technologies are useful, nuclear fission is very wrong.
- It was sold to us in the 50's as too cheap to meter although the sellers knew it was very much more expensive than that.
- The risk factor was not widely discussed.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part Two
Chapter Three
- The nuclear industry puts forth this idea of cheap energy in a very deceptive way. The Cheney energy plan does this also.
- The capital costs are ignored to make the numbers seem more attractive than they are.
- Nuclear costs are actually much higher than coal and wind energy.
- France energy costs from nuclear is higher than in the US. Most French people would like to get out of Nuclear.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part Three
Chapter Three
- Waste is a major issue. The main problem with the spent fuel which is a waste product is that you cannot safely store it. It is an accident and terrorism risk.
- A geological solution is most expedient but is only a temporary solution. The cost of this is exorbitant.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part Four
Chapter Three
- Insurance is provided by Government against catastrophic failure.
- Nuclear power companies are lining up in Washington because they could not get funding on Wall Street.
- I don't think there will be a renaissance of nuclear power in this country.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part Five
Chapter Three
- How much light energy do we get out of an incandescent lamp from the coal energy put into it. Only 3%. 97% is heat energy.
- Lighting our homes you only need to illuminate the work spaces, not the whole home in general.
- We can improve by three times the lighting efficiency.
Dr. Arjun Makhijani - Part Six
Chapter Three
- I think we need to electrify our economy much more. Heating water is a very bad use for natural gas. Geothermal heat pumps are great uses of electricity.
- Natural gas is a very good transition fuel to move away from coal.
- We may need more electricity and less energy overall.
- The wind energy available in the wind corridor in the midwest is two and a half times our total consumption at this time.
