DEBATE: Does the world need nuclear energy?

Source: TED

TED is a non-profit organisation devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. They hold two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer --

Debate from Feb 2010 - Long Beach California - 23 min

Nuclear power: the energy crisis has even die-hard environmentalists reconsidering it. In this first-ever TED debate, Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson square off over the pros and cons. A discussion that'll make you think -- and might even change your mind.

Since the counterculture Sixties, Stewart Brand has been a critical thinker and innovator who helped lay the foundations of our internetworked world. Full bio »

At Stanford, Mark Z. Jacobson uses numerical models to study the effects of energy systems and vehicles on climate and air pollution, and to analyze renewable energy resources. Full bio »

If all of your electricity in your lifetime came from nuclear [energy], the waste from that lifetime of electricity would go in a Coke can.” (Stewart Brand)

And you, what is your position?

Text & Video 2 - Will the eurozone collapse?

The head of the European Central Bank has warned that the currency union has become unsustainable.

Source: Al Jazeera Inside Story - 02/06/2012

Mario Draghi, the head of the European Central Bank (ECB), has told European politicians that they should do a lot more to tackle the debt crisis.

He says the current setup is unsustainable and has urged member states to take immediate action towards developing a clear vision for the next few years.

Draghi warned that the structure of the euro currency union has become unsustainable and criticised political leaders, who, he said, had been slow to respond to a European debt crisis now well into its third year.

"Can the ECB fill the vacuum or lack of action by national governments on the structural front? And again the answer is no, structural reforms don't have much to do with monetary policy," Draghi said, adding: "Can the ECB fill the vacuum left by the lack of euro area governance? And the answer is no. So, let's ask: What can we do now? What is the next step? The next step is basically for our leaders to clarify what is the vision for a certain number of years from now."

And it appears that Spain has replaced Greece as the epicentre of the eurozone crisis, for now at least. New data shows that worried investors are pulling a record amount of money out of Spain. The Central Bank says that around $120bn has left the country in the first three months of this year. But Spain has denied talk of a bailout from the IMF.

All of this has taken a toll on the value of the euro currency. It fell to its lowest level in almost two years against the dollar. The euro has also slid for the seventh day versus the yen - the longest losing streak in four months and its lowest level in more than a decade. It all spells a growing lack of confidence in the single European currency.

So, is the eurozone really facing disintegration? Can it survive or is a complete collapse looking more likely? And is it realistic for all 17 members to remain in the eurozone?

Inside Story, with presenter Hazem Sika, discusses this with guests: Jessica Chamba, the vice-president of the European Movement, a group that aims to promote European integration; Robert Oulds, the director of the Bruges Group, a leading Eurosceptic cross-party think tank; and Charles Davis, the head of Macro Economics at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

Link to video (24 min): http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/201261183736530374.html