National Catholic Register: Nuclear power a temptation governments must resist
On nuclear power, the warnings are clear
Mar. 25, 2011
National Catholic Register editorial
Like Three Mile Island in the 1970s and Chernobyl in the 1980s, we will be studying the lessons of Fukushima for decades to come. But at least one thing is clear today: The benefits of nuclear power are too few, and the consequences of serious mishap too great, to make it a reliable component of the energy supply the world needs in the decades to come.
Nuclear power is simply too risky. It is a temptation world governments must resist.
As we write, the worst may be yet to come in Japan. This wretched story will take weeks, months perhaps, to unfold. But the prospect of a radiological cloud generated by failed containment forcing the evacuation of towns and cities is real, as is the poisoning of Japan’s food supply, or the onslaught of childhood leukemia similar to that which occurred at Chernobyl in Ukraine. (Those who argue, as pro-nuclear pundits did on television talk shows last week, that the vast majority of leukemia sufferers at Chernobyl ultimately survived need a reminder of the pain and suffering those victims endured -- through years of side-effects-inducing chemotherapy and, ironically, cell-killing radiation.)
These scenarios serve as a warning to an energy-hungry warming planet tempted by the prospect of a non-carbon alternative to today’s energy sources: Don’t go there.
(Continued here.)
Mar. 25, 2011
National Catholic Register editorial
Like Three Mile Island in the 1970s and Chernobyl in the 1980s, we will be studying the lessons of Fukushima for decades to come. But at least one thing is clear today: The benefits of nuclear power are too few, and the consequences of serious mishap too great, to make it a reliable component of the energy supply the world needs in the decades to come.
Nuclear power is simply too risky. It is a temptation world governments must resist.
As we write, the worst may be yet to come in Japan. This wretched story will take weeks, months perhaps, to unfold. But the prospect of a radiological cloud generated by failed containment forcing the evacuation of towns and cities is real, as is the poisoning of Japan’s food supply, or the onslaught of childhood leukemia similar to that which occurred at Chernobyl in Ukraine. (Those who argue, as pro-nuclear pundits did on television talk shows last week, that the vast majority of leukemia sufferers at Chernobyl ultimately survived need a reminder of the pain and suffering those victims endured -- through years of side-effects-inducing chemotherapy and, ironically, cell-killing radiation.)
These scenarios serve as a warning to an energy-hungry warming planet tempted by the prospect of a non-carbon alternative to today’s energy sources: Don’t go there.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
Whether the world will use nuclear power or not must depend on facts. The reality about nuclear power is completely different than what is claimed in the National Catholic Register article, "Nuclear power a temptation governments must resist." To settle this, I invite institutions of the Catholic Church to host debates around the country. Invite students, professors, clergy and laity to participate and attend. I will provide two non-science major high school students who are seasoned debaters and have been educated by America's top scientists in nuclear energy to advocate for nuclear power, Price Baker age 18 in Florida and Mary Claire Birdsong age 17 in Georgia.
We can only benefit and learn from such debates.
John A. Shanahan, Dr. Ing. (Germany)
Civil Engineer
Archbishop Stepinac High School, NY
University of Notre Dame, BS, MS, IN
Ruhr University Bochum, Dr. Ing., Germany
Denver, Colorado
Email: acorncreek2006@gmail.com
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