nuclear-news

The real lessons of Chernobyl and Fukushima

Debating the Merits of Nuclear Power CATHERINE THOMASSON NYT  MAY 8, 2014  Re “The Right Lessons From Chernobyl” (editorial, May 2):

The danger posed by nuclear power goes far beyond the catastrophic accidents that have occurred at Chernobyl and Fukushima. As the nuclear weapon programs of North Korea, Pakistan, Israel, India and perhaps Iran have shown, civilian nuclear power programs are inextricably linked with the technology needed to develop nuclear weapons. 

We cannot promote nuclear power as a source of electricity and also expect to prevent nuclear weapon proliferation, a development that poses as great a threat to humanity as global warming.Furthermore, nuclear power is not an inexpensive bridge to an energy system based on renewable sources.

It competes for resources with renewables, diverting money from the very technologies we need to promote. Numerous studies provide blueprints for replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources more cheaply and quickly than nuclear power can.

It is time to abandon the myth of the peaceful atom and focus on building a renewable energy system that meets the needs of all people.

May 10, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general