The Government gave the green light for more nuclear power plants on Thursday as a means to securing the future of the UK’s energy supply in a “safe and affordable” way, according to Business Secretary John Hutton.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s announcement, Bishop Smith said the Government’s decision was inevitable because of the high demand for energy from ordinary consumers and the onus lay on individuals to prevent the creation of more nuclear power plants.
“If you ask most people whether they support nuclear power most people would say no,” he said. “But the rate we continue to use energy - despite all the warnings about global warming, carbon footprints, and dwindling supplies of coal, oil and gas - then the Government has no choice but to give the go ahead for new nuclear power stations if they are to secure energy supplies in the years ahead.
“But the demand isn’t being led by government; it’s being led by consumers,” he said, pointing to the responsibility of the individual to make environmentally friendly changes to their lifestyle.
According to the Bishop, if every household in the West Midlands replaced just one old fashioned incandescent light bulb with an energy-saving bulb, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 70,300 tonnes every year, whilst enough energy could be saved to switch off a nuclear power station if every house in the UK were to do this.
Switching off TVs, DVDs, VCRs, set-top boxes, digital recorders and PC monitors, meanwhile, could all reduce CO2 emissions by 3.1 million tones, he added.
