Amazing Europe Today Wade Allison Emeritus Professor of Physics and Fellow Keble College, Oxford University Hon. Sec. Supporters of Nuclear Energy (SONE) United Kingdom March 29, 2018
The following is a short collection of thoughts by Professor Allison about Europe today. They were originally prepared as a contribution to a talk to be given in the United States. Sharing this on the Environmentalists for Nuclear - USA website and in its newsletter to thousands of professionals, students, teachers and leaders in business and government in 120 countries will serve a useful purpose.
It is an interesting time in Europe but the future looks better than the media suggest I voted for Brexit. I was not as sure then as I am now, but it is still a risk and I could be proved wrong. The Europe we joined years ago was about free trade, not regulations and bureaucracy. The EU seems to prefer rules and solidarity, rather than thought and risk. Nations don't change. I believe the UK has made its way in the past by sticking its neck out in a way that Germans, for instance, would never do. The French, our traditional rivals, have received a severe cultural battering in recent years, but I am pleased to see them recover some poise under Macron - this is really the best news from Europe. But I wonder whether Macron will be allowed to do all that needs to be done. On energy, Germany has its head in the sand, while France could spread the message of nuclear power throughout Europe; on this the UK has made a start, with French help. However the BBC and the more thoughtful UK press have been both anti-Brexit and nuclear blind. They have much to learn, but will they listen? Perhaps I may note some other snippets of good news as seen from the UK. Theresa May is proving highly resilient, both in Europe and in her dealings with Russia. The Harry-Meghan wedding will be a great uplift for all sorts of relationships in the UK and worldwide. The upwelling of young opinion against the US gun culture looks as if it might succeed. We do not understand the US taste for guns, litigation, and the LNT culture that frightens people about 1