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By Amrita Shah Although many people are outraged that nuclear power could be a substantial part of the world's future energy supply, technology is changing rapidly and constantly needs to be looked at with a fresh eye, says James Martin
The Meaning of the 21st Century by James Martin
Transworld Publishers
Pages: 526 |
 At a time when India is fraught with the signing of a deal that promises to revive India’s flagging nuclear power industry, a development that (if at all it comes about) will also re-open old concerns about safety and the environmental hazards of nuclear technology, the section on nuclear power from James Martin’s The Meaning of the 21st Century seems particularly relevant. “In the minds of most of the public today, it is outrageous to suggest that nuclear power be a substantial part of the world’s future energy supply. Technology, however, can change rapidly and sometimes needs to be looked at with a fresh eye,” Martin maintains.
Nuclear technology, hailed as the answer to the world’s energy needs in the 1950s, was virtually abandoned in many parts of the world following a realisation of its many problems: the issue of waste disposal and accidents such as Chernobyl, in 1985. That, according to Martin, is a thing of the past, for, “we are now on the brink of a fundamental change in the technology of nuclear power”. This change will take the form of a “fourth generation” nuclear power station, ie a station using safe technology, one that does not serve the needs of the nuclear weapons industry, and is easy to dispose of. Among the designs that answer these requirements is the pebble-bed reactor in which the uranium fuel is encased in a spherical casing, like a tiny ball-bearing, and the whole reactor -- generating enough energy to power a small town -- is the size of a 40-foot shipping container. Thanks to new technology such as the pebble-bed reactor, Martin believes that “by the second half of the 21st century we’ll reach an era of abundant energy without pollution”. But, and here lies the rub, this benign state of affairs will only be arrived at after the planet has been severely damaged by climate change, an alteration so severe that it will make much of the planet uninhabitable. So what’s to be done? Oil-rich countries and petroleum companies, stakeholders in the old way of doing things, may resist moves to save energy, yet there is no option, the author insists, but to vigorously pursue ecologically correct solutions, primarily what he calls “eco-affuence” ie “the spread of lifestyles that are affluent and enjoyable, but do no harm to the environment wherever possible”. James Martin, Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Wired Society, is not afraid to disturb you, to worry you about the depredations being wrought on nature (chemicals in effluents altering the sexual characteristics of fish, for instance), even to terrify you with apocalyptic visions. Unlike most doomsayers, however, he is not conscious only of man’s destructive capacities but also his creative possibilities, and the way he puts these contradictions together is to present viable, tangible solutions. The accent on solutions is not accidental. Since 2005, when he founded the James Martin 21st century school at the University of Oxford, linking together institutes and academics with a shared concern for the future, James Martin has been involved in an effort to identify both the biggest problems facing humanity in the 21st century and its biggest opportunities. It is this sense of purpose that permeates the book, like an urgent call to arms that has led critics to recommend it as essential reading for politicians and leaders in other spheres. It makes up somewhat for the feeling of déjà vu that also permeates the book. So much has been written and shown about the startling developments in science and biotechnology, not just in books and films but also in the popular media, that the highlights of Martin’s survey of the coming century are, by and large, familiar, almost like landmarks on a path one has traversed in one’s dreams perhaps. Gene manipulation, lifespan extension, brain mapping, so on and so forth. Added to these are a few less discussed possibilities: Martin believes that with increased prosperity and the prospect of machines taking over laborious tasks, the future age could be a coming Renaissance. A time in which great literature, fine art, and entertainment can flourish supported by global networks of enthusiasts. More importantly, that new culture might serve to transcend differences between incompatible societies. But always, between despondency and hope there is only a narrow window of opportunity. And the reader can hear constantly the author’s earnest voice propelling mankind towards it. A key problem as he outlines it is the fact that even as technology improves, the ability to use it diminishes much like a train without a driver. The wisdom to use the enhanced features of our age must come from a synthesis of a large amount of knowledge and experience. Few have the skill for this, but it will come, Martin says, “when we learn to relax”. “Our best brains need to stop chasing the most highly paid careers, the fastest boats, and the smartest country clubs. A mature society should exhibit deep respect for deep wisdom.” In material terms, Martin sees the future belonging to the “small, brilliant, changeable and flat”, the Davids of the world who will bring the Goliaths to their knees. Small can also reach the disadvantaged easier -- generators to the electricity-deprived, mobile phones to areas without telephone lines, hand-squeezed flashlights, and 100 dollar personal computers -- thereby reducing some inequalities. In return, areas that have never enjoyed indulgencies such as airconditioners will teach their pampered peers in the West about traditional methods of cooling, for instance, and other energy-saving methods. Corporate markers in an age where natural resources such as water are running out could change with productivity being measured not as labour productivity but resource productivity. Another mantra for the coming age could be cutting energy waste, for instance the energy lost in transmission. Eliminating such waste, Martin claims, quoting thinkers on the subject, could be part of “a new industrial revolution”. It is not startling revelations that power The Meaning of the 21st Century, though there are some delightful discoveries on its pages such as the pebble-bed reactor. It is, rather, with the synthesis of a vast amount of data and its marshalling, the light, persuasive tone with which he urges the reader along, and in the manner in which he coats new ideas in old terminology (waste elimination as a new “industrial revolution”, for instance) that Martin impresses. It is the last tactic in particular that serves to remind the reader that there are no givens; it is we who brought us where we are, and it is we who will decide where we go. (Amrita Shah is an independent writer and journalist based in Mumbai) InfoChange News & Features, September 2007
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