Topic: Environmental Impacts of Emerging Energy Technology
Country: Italy
Delegate Name: Tyler Bos
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Italy position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
In recent years the world at large is coming away from the crude methods of obtaining energy of the past, such as oil, coal, and gasses, and into the new age of clean, renewable, and long-lasting energy sources. The Italian Republic plans to restart its nuclear energy program, after more than 20 years after it being scrapped by referendum in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Since that time we have become the world's biggest net importer of electricity. Our republic depends on oil and gas imports to meet more than 80% of its energy needs and its power prices are among the highest in Europe. We plan to build nuclear power stations to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil and gas. Our Italian power company, ENEL, and their French counterpart, the EDF, agreed upon a deal to study the feasibility of building four power stations in Italy, signed on 24 February 2009. These will replace those plants closed in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster. Thanks to France making available its knowledge of nuclear reactor technology we will save several years and start the construction of nuclear plants in a limited amount of time. Building this group of new-generation nuclear power stations will reduce our country’s reliance on oil and gas. However, there it is thought that there is still a strong public opposition to nuclear energy, and it is not clear how we will override the 1987 referendum that followed the Chernobyl disaster.
This being said it is of the utmost importance to the people of Italy that we explore more deeply into emerging renewable and clean energy sources such as: Wind, Hydro-Electric, Concentrated Solar Power, and various Biofuels. Currently nearly all of these emerging technologies are represented in Italy on a much smaller scale than that of coal, oil, and gas energy sources. Italy wishes to see an expansion of these industries in not only the Italian Republic but throughout the European Union and around the world as well.
As for the impacts of emerging energy technologies on the environment, particularly the impacts of wind turbine technology on bird populations and the proper care in acquiring material and the disposal of Lithium Ion batteries that are used in electric cars. It is estimated that in the United States there are a mere 6,000 birds killed in incidents involving wind turbines a year while there were 4,300 bird-aircraft collisions listed by the United States Air Force and 5,900 by US civil aircraft in 2003, as well there must be thousands of more incidents that go unreported and throughout other countries with extensive air programs. Obviously this matter is nothing to simply brush off, however the technology does not present a major threat against a bird population. If you were to take the total bird population in the United States of areas with wind turbines you would realize that 6,000 is an infinitesimal percentage of the total population and puts little strain on the population at large.
Likewise Lithium Ion batteries pose a very serious dilemma. Firstly: how can we safely mine the materials necessary for making the batteries?, secondly: What will be done with the spent batteries, will they be recycled or how can they be handled in order not to damage environmental stability? The first problem can be appeased by the answer to the second. If we were to mine a small amount to produce new batteries and continually recycle spent batteries to make new batteries we could stop the pollution of our environment from the dangerous chemicals inside Lithium Ion Batteries and lessen our impact through mining.
