Lecture 5: Nick's Response
Nick Braithwaite
About Nick
Nicholas Braithwaite joined the OU in 1987 as a lecturer in the Technology Faculty. He has worked on several engineering courses, specialising in the subjects close to electronics and materials engineering. His research interests concern the technological applications of electrically conducting, gaseous plasmas. In 2004, as professor in Engineering Physics, he moved across to the Science Faculty where he has a research group investigating Plasma Physics.
In the forum
You've heard the lectures. You've seen what our experts have to say. But what do you think? It's time for you to join the debate.
Our experts' views
'Global warming and nuclear emissions know no boundaries'
Joyce Fortune
'Technology cannot make us less profligate'
Derek Matravers
'Suddenly, Lord Broers is less gung-ho about technology'
Tom Hewitt
Nick Braithwaite
The consequences of our technology-enabled lifestyle are not always positive. Broers highlighted air transportation and general energy consumption as areas that currently pose serious threats to the environment – yet these technologies are made available ‘by popular demand’.
We must be better informed if we are to take responsibility for our actions or make objective assessments of the risks involved. That means the public has a responsibility to engage more with the technology it uses. Public engagement with technology and its consequences is an altogether more worthy pursuit than merely a public understanding of science.
A new debate on nuclear power is beginning. New generations worldwide are set to demand levels of energy for which a dramatically increased nuclear option is a serious contender. Some have been over the ground before, but the technology and the market have evolved.
It’s time to worry again about issues of safety, risk to the environment and the legacy of nuclear waste. To join the debate the ability to distinguish between facts, values and beliefs will be essential – it always is in matters of technology. The triumph of technology now needs to be matched by triumphs of communication, education and debate about technology.
We must be better informed if we are to take responsibility for our actions or make objective assessments of the risks involved. That means the public has a responsibility to engage more with the technology it uses. Public engagement with technology and its consequences is an altogether more worthy pursuit than merely a public understanding of science.
A new debate on nuclear power is beginning. New generations worldwide are set to demand levels of energy for which a dramatically increased nuclear option is a serious contender. Some have been over the ground before, but the technology and the market have evolved.
It’s time to worry again about issues of safety, risk to the environment and the legacy of nuclear waste. To join the debate the ability to distinguish between facts, values and beliefs will be essential – it always is in matters of technology. The triumph of technology now needs to be matched by triumphs of communication, education and debate about technology.
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