So ... it seems we’re destined to meet again ... oh alright!
FYI, my classmates and I had to go to this ‘Nuclear Talk’ the other day (Friday, 9th October 2010) held at my college (UNITEN! Woohoo!) by the ‘Malaysia's Nuclear Agency’. So for this entry I’m gonna give a review on that talk.
Let’s make it more fun shall we? People, introducing:
Book 8 of the Harry Potter saga (unreleased apparently)
Harry Potter and the Stone, Chamber, Prisoner, Goblet, Order, Prince and Hallows (take your pick) of Nuclear
Part 1
It was a fine day of summer when Harry, Ron and Hermione were lazying by the lake watching the giant squid mating with another not-so-giant squid. Life was good. Harry has Ginny. Ron has Hermione. I have no one and Lord Voldemort is dead. But then out of nowhere, a chilling breeze swipes over them and lo and behold, the ghost of Lord Voldemort appears!
Harry, Ron & Hermione (HRH) : OMG!
Lord Voldemort (LV) : You got that right.
Harry : What are you doing here? Why haven’t you moved on?!
LV : Duh! Coz I’m full with discontent and seething with revenge, that’s why!
Ron : Oh well, that makes sense.
Hermione : Don’t worry guys. He’s a ghost. He can’t hurt us any longer.
LV : You may be right. But I have other ways to destroy you!
Harry : Yawn. What’s new.
LV : I’m serious! I’ve found a magic so powerful that it can blow this world to ashes! And all of you shall perish along with it! Muahaha!
Ron : Yeah? What is it?
LV : Nuclear!
HRH : OMG!
LV : You three should really stop doing that. Kind of gets on my nerves. But don’t worry. I’m here to share the knowledge with you and for greater good, not to do anything bad with it.
HRH : OMG!
LV : ...
Hermione : But you’re the bad guy. Why the sudden change?!
LV : How should I know. Ask the author that. He’s running out of ideas I guess. Anyway, you guys wanna learn or not?
HRH : Yes! Yes! Oh yes please!
LV : Well you see nuclear is well known for being a destructive weapon but people seem to forget that it can also be used to produce energy. Heck anything can be a weapon! Even a harmless piece of paper can be turned into a weapon by simply strangling a person with it right? Bottom line is, it all comes down to us!
HRH : ...
LV : Anyhoo...throughout centuries, mankind’s evolution in industry and technology has been rather overwhelming. These growths however require huge amount of energy and I fear available sources like coal, oil, natural gas etc just won’t cut it anymore. We need a backup plan and nuclear just might be the answer. Industry, transportation, commercial, residential ... you name it! They all need energy.
Did you know that nuclear provides 16% of the world’s energy demand from 1986 till now? What do you think will happen in the future when there are no longer oil, natural gas and coal left on earth? We’re talking about the remaining 84% of world’s energy needs here folks!
HRH : OMG!
LV : Besides, the human population now is nearing 7 billion worldwide. 5 billion increase in only just 60 years! That’s roughly 20 million increments in a year! Imagine 50 years from now when most scientists deduce the world’s oil to be totally depleted. What will human do for energy? What’s worse is that world population growth has only increases by a factor of 6 whilst global energy consumption increases by a factor of more than 20 over the past 200 years!
HR : OMG!
LV : Stop doing that! Avada Kedavra! Damn it! I forgot I’m already dead.
Ron (nudges Harry) : Told you it’d work.
LV : A nuclear power plant uses uranium. Whilst coal, oil and gas has a lifetime of fuel resources around 40-150 years, uranium’s is over 3000 years. (Take that PETRONAS!) And don’t get me started with the climate change! My house doesn’t have an air conditioner unit so I’m suffering here! Suffering I tell you! The pain, the pain ...
Harry : Err, you or the author?
LV : It doesn’t matter! GHG (green house gas) emissions have increased by more than 70% from 1970 to 2004 alone causing heat waves, floods, droughts! Coral mortality! Extinction of species! Even I didn’t cause this much terror when I was all-powerful! But nuclear, ahh nuclear, my precious nuclear, it’s green! It’s a green energy! Unlike oil, coal and gas, it emits very and I mean very little amount of CO2! (Take that SHELL!) Humans need to maintain the CO2 emission at 450 ppm or
else temperature shall rise above 20C and the world can go bye-bye!
HRH : OMG!
LV : ... Oh well, at least now we have 441 nuclear power plant generating 376,313 MWe worldwide whilst more than 500 are either under construction, planned or proposed. So keep your fingers crossed!
HRH : We will!
LV : And another great news is that currently, 30 countries have nuclear power plants right and now, more than 60 countries are interested in exploring nuclear energy! By 2030 it is expected that 10-25 countries are likely to bring their first reactors online whilst countries which already have nuclear power are targeting for expansions of around 230 to 480! Isn’t that great!
HRH : Really? It is! Yay!
LV : Don’t mock me! You guys are mean! (Sob sob)
Ron : Oh come on LV. We’re just messing with you. Go on. Tell us more!
LV : Alright since you ask, did you know Malaysia is considering nuclear energy. It’s...
Harry : Hold on. Why Malaysia?
LV : Dunno. The author is a Malaysian apparently so ... Malaysia. As I was saying, Malaysia’s government is interested but at the same time faces certain challenges. They worry for energy security what with the volatility and escalation of oil prices, increase in GHG etc but at the same time faces mutiny from the people who don’t understand. All these people know is the Japan bombing, so they are hysterical you see. However it seems that a green light is probable so the author would like you to cross your fingers again.
Everyone crossing fingers when suddenly they heard the most terrifying sound they’ve ever heard.
Po po po poker face po po poker face! And Lady Gaga makes an entrance.
LV and HRH : OMG!
Hermione : This is bad! This is very bad romance...
...to be continued...
nice post here though! huhu...nuclear resourse is the best than other resources...it is way cheaper compared to oils, fossil fuels, and others...
ReplyDeleteMuhammad Ridhwan Bin Abd Halim
ridhwanhalim@gmail.com
i agree that nuclear energy is the best way to create energy without affecting the nature.but still i would like to ask a question ,why still malaysia goverment delaying the work of new nuclear power plant ?
ReplyDeleteKUMARAN A/L SOMASUNDRAM
ME083565
kmrn_siva@yahoo.com
Good approach to maintain your readers. Anyway Nuclear is a good way to overcome the problems of our resources. Nuclear is indeed a Green Energy but somehow I don't think its Sustainable as there are still a considerable amount of concerns especially for radioactive waste. More nuclear reactors, more waste, and what will happen after that? There are even cases of waste underground blow-up, killing many people in Russia. High safety measures are significantly needed. Nuclear is good but I dont think we should depend totally on it and it should only be a substitute power rather than a total solution for other energies.
ReplyDeleteThank You.
LIM CHEE KEONG (ME 083567)
eric9090@hotmail.com
nice blog anyway,
ReplyDeleteOur country should start considering this,nuclear energy as the alternative since it is cheaper and better for environment,and about the cost to build the power plant shouldn't be the issue for us to argue as we all know it would 'paid back'.here is the advantage from using nuclear energy
Fuel is inexpensive,
Energy generation is the most concentrated source,
Waste is more compact than any source,
Extensive scientific basis for the cycle,
Easy to transport as new fuel,
No greenhouse or acid rain effects
Besides,we can save our earth.
FARID ASNAWI AHMAD
ME081809
nawi_fender@yahoo.com
Hi, it is a nice article with a different approach. Well done!
ReplyDeleteFrom the lecture i've heard, most of the lectures are bias. They prefer nuclear energy rather than other energy sources. For me, why don't we just make use everything that we have and utilise it so that we can get the benefit with variation of energy sources. Every sources have their own advantages and disadvantages. If we work up on every sources that we have,we should overcome problems that caused by one energy source with another sources and vice versa. We could get optimum benefit by making the variation of it.
Amiro Iqbal Bin Mohd Aminudin
ME084618
amiro_aminudin@yahoo.com
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, i like the layout of the blog. A good presentation.
Back to the topic. I agree with amiro but also i agree with nuclear energy. Here let me elaborate my points. When it comes to nuclear energy, it needs years of research to develop such complex technology especially in Malaysia. We are new to this. For the mean time, why not we focus on alternative energy. That's mean we not focusing on one area only.
If is it years to take to research, for that duration, how much pollution have we made for contributing global warming. Therefore to fill the gap, alternative energy is the solution. Besides, our government need to consider the cost for build nuclear reactor plus with man power to run and maintain the reactor. A lot of money need to spend. It turn out badly if nuclear project is cancel.
As a conclusion, we are far behind in nuclear technology. Alternative energy is essential to look forward. But for nuclear, that is our future.
Muhammad Damanhuri
ME085988
damanoalberto@gmail.com
hello,
ReplyDeletenice story.. hehe.. I agree with Lord voldemort. In my opinion, our government should realize that we are still far behind other country like US and France. Maybe we still lack of knowledge in this field.
As Malaysia citizen, we have to realize that we need nuclear in the future. Not for our energy source only, but for our green planet.
thank you..
Muhammad Rafiuddin
ME083600
Salam...
ReplyDeleteNice presentation there on the importance of nuclear energy... (Well said there Lord Voldemort... Huhu)
Certainly many countries are interested in Nuclear plant because they don't want to left behind. Almost all major developed countries are turning to nuclear for energy resource. The current source of energy (coal, oil and) won't last long, and the rate people are multiplying - 20 million increments in a year, Nuclear Energy is the long term solution.
Khairul Amirin Bin Amir Hussain
CE080110
deafening_silence84@yahoo.com
disagree with kumaran.. actually i don't think that malaysia government want to delay about nuclear power without any reason.. it just because we still new in this and our country is insuffient of fund to make interest in this field.. just my opinion..
ReplyDeletemuhammad fikri bin baharudin
fiq.bahar@gmail.com
amazing post for me.
ReplyDeletewhat i'm thinking now, our cntry should have nuclear power as soon as possble before we left behind.
i'm frgt to write my email : )
ReplyDeleteALIF AHNAF BIN OMAR
ME084145
alip04macro@gmail.com
well played...
ReplyDeleteGlobal Warming are household words at the moment...PMs and Presidents will have them in their speeches....with its environmental effects,
every PMs needs Nuclear Energy but it depends on the size of their pockets now.
Leone Kacisau
me084603
nice post.
ReplyDeletenuclear power plant will deliver many benefits for Malaysian. It will help to protect our environment because nuclear energy plants produce electricity by the fission of uranium, not the burning of fuels. As a result, nuclear plants don't pollute the air with sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, dust or greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
FATIN NORAIN BT AHMAD SABRI
ME083981
fna_90@yahoo.com
So interesting to read this post.everytime i heard or read the word of nuclear,i always think immediately how bad that nuclear bombs dropped by US gave such big impacts to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. However, nowadays Japanese by themselves use the nuclear energy to generate power to their country. This proves that nuclear is a great discovery of century, that can be used for good and evil.
ReplyDeleteIn a nutshell,i think malaysia should use nuclear energy in the future.it brings us lots of benefit. "MALAYSIA BOLEH!"
ZUNIESYAFIQ BIN ZULKAFLY
ME084002
z_syafiq1113@yahoo.com
muhammad ridhwan: tnx bro. don't forget all its other advantages
ReplyDeletekumaran: at that I can't really tell. they're interested but indifferent at the same time. politics huh? throughout history it has always proven to be the dominant contributor to the downfalls of civilizations. Go figure!
lim chee keong: to answer that, you'd better read Part 2 of the book (book? lol) sure as alternative for now but what of the future? all I'm saying is we'd better be prepared.
farid asnawi: tnx. agree with you on the paybacks. also the hydrogen produced as by-products of the plants can be exported as well. another money-bringer right?
amiro: that's a good thinking. better to make best use of what we have huh? then again nuclear is an alternative. the general idea is that, for energy needs of homes and industries we use nuclear. for transportation mostly still dependent on oils, we use oils. at the very least we can lessen the CO2 emissions right? coals? let's just sell them for BBQs
zuniesyafiq: i know right. even Japan is already adopting the tech, what's holding us back? and I think I remember our 4th PM used to say 'learn from (pandang) the country where the sun rises'
ReplyDeletefatin: absolutely. u have an iphone? (read Part 2 to get the joke, if still don't understand, sorry in advance for the lame attempt)
leone kacisau: well played yourself :)
alip: true. we're quite in the lead compared to other south-east Asia countries but still, who knows when we might just get cut-off the race
fik: not really sure though. Malaysia's budget in GreenTech development alone is RM1.5 billion!!! I wonder where has all those money gone to?...
mirin: tnx. agreeing with LV? r u a death eater by any chance? :) yeah, surely we Malaysians don't want to be left behind right? it is indeed time for us to make a move!
ReplyDeletemuhammad rafiuddin: u're an accomplice of mirin? hehe. maybe, which is why it's high time we start learning.
al berto: tnx. you mean wind, solar and ocean energies? those alternative energies however currently produces very little power even though the cost to built and run them is relatively high. they can be good alternatives but worldwide scale, most of them are still under research and development stage (I should know, my FYP is on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC))
I agree with you on the high cost aspect however. FYI Malaysia is contracting the project to countries already developing nuclear reactors (most probably South Korea from what I heard) plus all the expertise needed to run a Nuclear Power Plant. We will eventually gain the knowledge needed to run it ourselves though but hey, nothing's free right? Besides, the paybacks in the long term is so worth it.
Meanwhile, by having NPP, we would already be cutting down on pollution and getting energies at the same time