Perhaps not many people are aware of this, but, due to Doppler effect, the perceived color of
objects depends on your velocity relative to that object.
In example, if you speed up sufficiently, a red light on a semaphore will first become yellow for
you, and then green. If you speed up even more, it will become blue, etc.
But this relativity of color is present in metaphorical usage too. Consider nuclear
energy as a green solution.
Fear of nuclear energy is misplaced or irrational. The same as the fear of
flying - statistically, you're much more likely to die in a car than in a plane, but plane
crashes don't happen so often and typically a lot of people die in that crash, so
it always becomes a sensation spread all over the news and mouths of politicians and
whatnots. Paradoxically, if it would happen more often - it wouldn't be perceived as so dangerous.
Majority of waste (up to 90%) of a nuclear power plant can be disposed as regular waste. Highly
radioactive waste is (or will be, in some countries) stored underground in deep geological
repositories.
Now, relative to surface in the short term - this is a very green solution (although mining fuel
for nuclear power plants is still not), but relative to Earth's crust not so much. Replacement of
fossil energy with nuclear energy is to certain degree a translation of atmospheric heating to
crust heating.
There is a lot of energy in radioactive waste - apparently,
nuclear
waste from the last 50 years currently sitting in US, if recycled, could power entire US for
about 93 years. Now, assume that energy is spent in 1 year - what kind of effect would it
have on climate and the environment?
The Earth's crust is radioactive already - some 50% of its heat is generated with nuclear fission
of elements in the crust and mantle. This geothermal energy is responsible for tectonics.
Burying radioactive waste deep in Earth's crust will be, inevitably, coupled with tectonic
activity. The increase in earthquakes and volcanism translates to more greenhouse gases
and pollution in atmosphere on the surface.
The question is only how good the Earth's crust is in
recycling of nuclear waste to
geothermal energy?
I have previously hypothesized increases in tectonic activity during strong evolution events of
planetary neurogenesis, together with a temporary increase in decay rates (due to decoupling of
Earth's gravitons from acquired matter).
I wonder to what degree will the increase of nuclear energy usage in humans be correlated with
this.
In any case, if you want to be more green you want to produce your energy there where it is
used. Running toward the red alert on the wall of a crumbling home might make it look green for
you, greener the faster you transition from one energy source to the other, but, make no
mistake, no illusion is conserved upon hitting the wall.