Support nuclear power

I care a whole lot about the environment and humanity’s impact on it, but I hesitate to describe myself as an “environmentalist.” That’s because I disagree vehemently with one of the fundamental beliefs of major environmentalist organizations like Greenpeace and the various PIRGs. I think nuclear power is a big part of the answer to our environmental woes, rather than part of the problem. When canvassers with clipboards and pamphlets approach me on the street to ask for a donation, I ask them if they’re still against building nuclear power plants. Then, when they launch into a prepared speech beginning with an enthusiastic yes (they think I’m on their side), I tell them to call me when they change their mind, and I walk away.

Setting aside all the science for a (brief!) moment, I want to point out that the tactics environmental groups use for pushing this anti-nuclear agenda are often pretty shady. It’s often merely implied by the language they use — for an example, see this US PIRG report that constantly refers to “fossil fuels and nuclear power,” that exact phrase, as if they’re equivalent in all important respects. Fossil fuels are bad for the environment, so it’s implied that nuclear plants must be equally so. After all, they’re always right there, one after the other! Never mind that the vast majority of the text devoted to explaining this is actually only talking about fossil fuels.

That said, let’s get to it. This “fact sheet” written in 2005 claims to explain why nuclear power is “expensive, dangerous, and unnecessary”. It’s full of generalizations and misleading statements, and not full enough of hard facts (though it’s decorated with lots of pretty charts to help disguise that). I could go through it sentence by sentence, but that wouldn’t do much more than make me too angry to finish this post. Instead, I will explain why all three of those adjectives aren’t fitting, and that nuclear power is affordable, safe, and absolutely necessary. Read more

July 21, 2008 · Written by
Tags: , , ,

1 Comment