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Political Habitat: The lie of Three Mile Island

Political Habitat: The lie of Three Mile Island Thirty years after its near-calamity, the American nuclear industry is still paying for its inability to tell the truth on its worst day. By Peter Dykstra Mar 25 2009  “…………………..

Today, the industry is ready for its comeback: Gone are the days of too-cheap-to-meter propaganda. (My favorite is a 1966 short film by Northeast Utilities: The Atom and Eve shows an alluring dancer, pirouetting around household appliances and fondling a refrigerator — all brought to you by clean, safe nuclear energy.) In its place is a global warming-based sales pitch: Carbon-free nukes, now providing about 20 percent of the nation’s electric supply, could replace a big chunk of the 50 percent provided by coal, and several utilities have plants on the drawing board.

All that remains to be conquered are the environmental risks throughout every stage of the nuclear fuel cycle: Uranium mining is inalterably destructive; its legacy was reported in a remarkable series in the Los Angeles Times two years ago; and the end of the cycle — dealing with nuclear waste — is barely closer to resolution than it was 30 years ago. Then there’s winning the faith of Wall Street — and the public. That’s all that’s left to do after the lie of TMI.

Political Habitat: The lie of Three Mile Island | MNN – Mother Nature Network

March 27, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA