Nuclear Power For NSW ?  

While Bob Carr is probably the Greenest premier in the country, his most effective actions have tended to mostly be in the form of inaction, in that he hasn't invested in new power stations and dams, and has tried to persuade newly arriving immigrants that Sydney is already overcrowded. His record on building road infrastructure is more mixed - while the government hasn't spent much money on new freeways, there has been a boom in privately funded toll roads in, around and under Sydney.

With the constant growth in electricity demand (partly driven by increasing population, but more by the inherent design flaws in the McMansionvilles that have sprung up on the fringes - where huge houses are combined with no eaves on the roofs, no space for trees that would provide shade and large air-conditioners to keep the whole thing habitable during the summer) now means some hard questions have to be answered. At the moment the debate is about "how can we generate more power", with some suggesting a new coal fired plant. Now the topic of a nuclear plant has been raised.

Unfortunately no one seems to be interested in demand reduction - even though one of the likely new jumps in demand will be caused by the building of a desalination plant to make up for the lack of water caused by climate change (which makes me wonder if anyone involved in this understands the concept of a "vicious circle").

While there are numerous changes that can be made to improve the situation, it doesn't look like any of them are going to happen until there is no other choice.

While the problem can't be solved for the next several years, the dilemma has sparked a political climate change that suddenly puts nuclear power on the longer-term agenda.

"This is a tectonic shift in the debate because here is a massive market force which sees a competitive advantage in advocating on climate change," says Paul Gilding, a former Greenpeace International chief turned corporate sustainability consultant, of the nuclear industry. And its a worldwide shift, says Mr Gilding, driven by the nuclear power industry which saw an opportunity to use global warming to reposition itself.

"It's important because climate change so far has been painted as an anti-business, anti-growth issue," he says.

"So now the battle is becoming nuclear versus coal - two very powerful forces that count in the halls of power debating climate change and that's a completely different debate."

But now the political seal has been broken on the nuclear option, all sorts of ideas are up for grabs. Could Mr Carr argue the nuclear option would both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and power a desalination plant that could solve Sydney's water shortage?