nuclear-news

Nuclear power has always been, and still is, the excuse for nuclear weapons

Nuclear power has always been the nefarious Trojan horse for the weapons industry, and effective publicity campaigns are a hallmark of both industries.The concept of nuclear electricity was conceived in the early 1950s as a way to make the public more comfortable with the U.S. development of nuclear weapons.

“The atomic bomb will be accepted far more readily if at the same time atomic energy is being used for constructive ends,” a consultant to the Defense Department Psychological Strategy Board, Stefan Possony, suggested. The phrase “Atoms for Peace” was popularized by President Dwight Eisenhower in the early 1950s.

After Fukushima: Enough Is Enough, NYT,  By HELEN CALDICOTT, 2 Dec 11“…….After the [Fukushima] accident, lobbying groups touted improved safety at nuclear installations globally. In Japan, the Tokyo Electric Power Co. — which operates the Fukushima Daiichi reactors — and the government have sought to control the reporting of negative stories via telecom companies and Internet service providers.

In Britain, The Guardian reported that days after the tsunami, companies with interests in nuclear power — Areva, EDF Energy and Westinghouse — worked with the government to downplay the accident, fearing setbacks on plans for new nuclear power plants.

Nuclear power has always been the nefarious Trojan horse for the weapons industry, and effective publicity campaigns are a hallmark of both industries.The concept of nuclear electricity was conceived in the early 1950s as a way to make the public more comfortable with the U.S. development of nuclear weapons.

“The atomic bomb will be accepted far more readily if at the same time atomic energy is being used for constructive ends,” a consultant to the Defense Department Psychological Strategy Board, Stefan Possony, suggested. The phrase “Atoms for Peace” was popularized by President Dwight Eisenhower in the early 1950s.

Nuclear power and nuclear weapons are one and the same technology. A
1,000 megawatt nuclear reactor generates 600 pounds or so of plutonium
per year: An atomic bomb requires a fraction of that amount for fuel,
and plutonium remains radioactive for 250,000 years. Therefore every
country with a nuclear power plant also has a bomb factory with
unlimited potential.The nuclear power industry sets an unforgivable
precedent by exporting nuclear technology — bomb factories — to dozens
of non-nuclear nations…..
The industry, meanwhile, has promoted new modular and “advanced”
reactors as better alternatives to traditional reactors. They are,
however, subject to the very same risks — accidents, terrorist
attacks, human error — as the traditional reactors. Many also create
fissile material for bombs as well as the legacy of radioactive
waste…..
Nuclear advocates often paint those who oppose them as Luddites who
are afraid of, or don’t understand, technology, or as hysterics who
exaggerate the dangers of nuclear power.

One might recall the sustained attack over many decades by the tobacco
industry upon the medical profession, a profession that revealed the
grave health dangers induced by smoking.

Smoking, broadly speaking, only kills the smoker. Nuclear power
bequeaths morbidity and mortality — epidemics of disease — to all
future generations.

The millions of lives lost to smoking in the era before the health
risks of cigarettes were widely exposed will be minuscule compared to
the medical catastrophe we face through the continued use of nuclear
power.

Let’s use this extraordinary moment to convince governments and others
to move toward a nuclear-free world. Let’s prove that informed
democracies will behave in a responsible fashion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/02/opinion/magazine-global-agenda-enough-is-enough.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

December 3, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, spinbuster