I attended an excellent conference two weekends ago organized by Spain’s socialist party (PSOE). The idea was to invite prominent progressive intellectuals from all over the world to review the party’s electoral platform and provide input and advice. This very impressive line up of intellectuals included the likes of: Joseph Stiglitz, Nicholas Stern, George Lakoff, Barbara Probst-Solomon, Jeremy Rifkin and Helen Caldicott.
It was Helen Caldicott’s talk that impacted me the most. I’ve attended many talks about global warming and energy and most of the time, when nuclear energy comes up I tend to hear very vague answers. I haven’t found a lot of strong opinions formed about it….until I heard Dr. Caldicott speak an unequivocal NO.
She convinced me that there is no practical or sane way to believe in nuclear energy as the answer to growing energy needs. The Beyond Nuclear website explains this better than I can:
Nuclear power cannot address climate change. Greenhouse gases are emitted throughout the nuclear fuel chain, from the mining of the necessary fuel – uranium – to its enrichment, transportation and the construction of nuclear plants. Nuclear plants take too long to build – up to a dozen years or more. The planet is already in crisis with experts pointing to rapid climate change already underway and less than ten years left to pre-empt disaster. There is no time to wait for nuclear plant construction.
Nuclear plants are too expensive – at least $6 billion or more apiece. The planet and its inhabitants need faster, cheaper and safer energy sources without the risks presented by nuclear power: daily exposure to routine releases of radiation; the risk of radiological catastrophe from a serious accident or attack; piles of lethal radioactive waste stored unsafely at reactor sites; and the proliferation dangers and ties to nuclear weapons development.
Expansion of nuclear power invites war. This has been most ominously demonstrated by the September 6, 2007 bombing by Israel of a suspected nuclear site in Syria, and the sabre-rattling around Iran’s nuclear power program.