THE ANTHROPOCENE: IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT US - Afterburn: Society Beyond Fossil Fuels - page 59

should all get used to the idea of the environment as human-constructed, and that this is potentially
a good thing. 4
Is the Anthropocene the culmination of human folly or the commencement of human godhood?
Will the emerging epoch be depleted and post-apocalyptic or tastefully appointed by generations
of tech-savvy ecosystem engineers? Environmental philosophers are currently engaged in what
amounts to a heated debate about the limits of human agency. That discussion is especially engross-
ing because. . . it's all about us!
The viability of the “we're-in-charge-and-loving-it” version of the Anthropocene—let's call it the
Techno-Anthropocene —probably hinges on prospects for nuclear power. A concentrated, reliable
energy source will be required if we are to maintain and grow industrial civilization, and just about
everybody agrees that—whether or not we're at the point of “peak oil” 5 —fossil fuels won't contin-
ue energizing civilization for centuries to come. Solar and wind are more environmentally benign
sources, but they are diffuse and intermittent. Of society's current non-fossil energy sources, only
nuclear is concentrated, available on demand, and (arguably) capable of significant expansion. Thus
it's no accident that Techno-Anthropocene boosters such as Mark Lynas, Stewart Brand, Ted Nord-
haus, and Michael Schellenberger are also big nuclear proponents.
But the prospects for current nuclear technology are not rosy. The devastating Fukushima melt-
downs of 2011 scared off citizens and governments around the globe. 6 Japan will be dealing with
the radiation and health impacts for decades if not centuries. 7 There is still no good solution for stor-
ing the radioactive waste produced even when reactors are operating as planned. 8 Nuclear power
plants are expensive to build and typically suffer from hefty cost over-runs. 9 The world supply of
uranium is limited, and shortages are likely by mid-century even with no major expansion of power
plants. 10 And, atomic power plants are tied to nuclear weapons proliferation. 11
In 2012, The Economist magazine devoted a special issue to a report on nuclear energy;
tellingly, the report was titled, “Nuclear Power: The Dream That Failed.” 12 Its conclusion: the nuc-
lear industry may be on the verge of expansion in just a few nations, principally China; elsewhere,
it's on life support. 13
None of this daunts Techno-Anthropocene proponents, who say new nuclear technology has the
potential to fulfill the promises originally made for the current fleet of atomic power plants. The
centerpiece of this new technology is the integral fast reactor (IFR).
Unlike light water reactors (which comprise the vast majority of nuclear power plants in service
today), IFRs would use sodium as a coolant. The IFR nuclear reaction features fast neutrons, and
it more thoroughly consumes radioactive fuel, leaving less waste. Indeed, IFRs could use current
radioactive waste as fuel. Also, they are alleged to offer greater operational safety and less risk of
weapons proliferation.
These arguments are forcefully made in the 2013 documentary “Pandora's Promise,” produced
and directed by Robert Stone. 14 The film asserts that IFRs are our best tool to mitigate anthropogen-
ic global warming, and goes on to suggest that misguided bureaucrats have deliberately attempted
to sabotage the development of IFR reactors.