nuclear-news

 Critics such as Nuclear Policy Research Institute founder Helen Caldicott have argued that disinformation has been essential to the nuclear industry. Ideology and political systems are inconsequential when it comes to misleading the public on this issue. According to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization Physicians for Social Responsibility, a group focused on human health and safety surrounding nuclear issues, “the history of the nuclear industry (nuclear weapons and nuclear power) has been one of secrecy, cover-ups and minimization. It is apparent that this culture remains rampant today.”

Before Fukushima, we were supposedly on the cusp of the next major nuclear renaissance. Dozens of projects were planned around the world (including several more in Fukushima). “Tiny” nuclear reactors were considered a revolutionary strategy that would bring humanity toward a viable replacement for the burning of fossil fuels, and the Obama Administration is still pushing for these in the United States (3). Only days before the accident at Fukushima began to unfold, Dan Rather, one of the most famous faces of US mainstream media, told readers at the popular Huffington Post that everyone he asked agreed that nuclear power was the best way to “go green” (4)….

A long-time opponent of nuclear power in Japan, Hirose Takashi, wrote a book called Nuclear Power Plants for Tokyo, arguing that if atomic energy is so safe, why not build the reactors in the center of the city instead of miles away where much of the energy gets lost in transmission ? (12) Shockingly, there are many places on the planet in which nuclear power plants are located near major population centers, such as Indian Point, located only 25 miles north of New York City.
Shouldn’t these facts require us to consider how we might soon replace the technology with clean energy?…. http://mondediplo.com/blogs/time-for-a-nuclear-phase-out