Anti-nuclear activist to speak at Western Michigan University as part of Michigan tour

February 13, 2014

http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2014/02/anti-nuclear_activist_to_speak.html

KALAMAZOO, MI – Calling nuclear energy “clean energy” is a misnomer, said Alfred Meyer, a member of the board of directors of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Alfred Meyer

“We have great objections to portraying nuclear as a clean energy source,” said Meyer, co-chairman of PSR’s radiation and health committee. “It’s our opinion that nuclear reactors cannot be used to solve climate change.”

Supporters of nuclear energy point to it as a source of energy that does not generate greenhouse gases. While that may be true inside the reactor chamber, Meyer said, he believes that leaves out many steps in the process.

“Let’s talk about uranium mining, refining, enrichment, fuel-fabrication and then, how do you take care of the waste for those millions of years?” he asked during an interview Thursday afternoon. “These are verifiable greenhouse gas emissions. There is less than coal, but it’s not carbon-neutral. To call it clean energy, I would have great objections to. Every step of the way, there’s pollution.”

Meyer was scheduled to deliver the talk, “Nuclear Power: What You Need to Know About Price, Pollution and Proliferation” Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Western Michigan University’s Sangren Hall, in Room 1910. His WMU talk was part of a five-day tour across Michigan. On Friday, he will be appearing at Lake Michigan College, Room 141, 125 Veterans Blvd. in South Haven.

PSR, which formed in the 1960s out of concern for atmospheric testing, is opposed to all use of nuclear energy, Meyer said. The group has more than 50,000 members and 30 state and local chapters.

“The point of a reactor is to boil water. Isn’t it a bit arrogant that, in exchange for the privilege of boiling water for 40 to 60 years, to leave behind some of the most dangerous elements known to man?” he asked.

Meyer pointed to Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in Covert Township as “a poster child for some of the issues. With Palisades, the issue is really safety and the potential danger for, if you will, polluting the community here.”

The tour is cosponsored by Beyond Nuclear and WMU Lee Honors College, WMU Environmental Studies program, WMU Institute of Government and Politics, Michigan Safe Energy Future, Don’t Waste Michigan, PSR Michigan Chapter, Alliance to Halt Fermi 3 and a Coalition for a Nuclear-Free Great Lakes.

“There are many other, better options for us to have electricity. This is not our only choice,” Meyer said. “There are other options that are much healthier, much safer and don’t have the long-term implications.”