The Way Forward

»It is the reality, not the promise, of nuclear power that makes it an unacceptable source of energy. Nuclear reactors leak, and they generate highly dangerous waste that must be kept isolated from the environment for 300,000 years. The radioactive waste from these plants puts our waterways, drinking water sources and communities at immense risk. Yet the nuclear industry enjoys massive subsidies, federal bailouts (what other industry can simply turn over its waste to the government?) and legal loopholes that allow them to hide leaks and avoid liability. There is no reason nuclear power should be allowed to avoid the disciplines of the free market, no reason it should exist outside the realm of democratic governance.

Waterkeeper Alliance shares the optimism of nuclear proponents who say that human ingenuity will ultimately solve our nuclear waste conundrum. But we believe that our ingenuity, and our money, is being badly allocated when the federal government subsidizes research and development of nuclear energy at $145 billion over the past 50 years versus $5 billion for renewable energy sources. No wonder nuclear is ahead.

Nuclear power currently generates 20 percent of U.S. and 15 percent of Canada’s electricity. But renewable, sustainable energy sources and efficiency have never been pursued with the same commitment as commercializing atomic power. The argument that we can never meet our energy demands without nuclear energy is cynical and shortsighted. With our capacity for innovation, nuclear energy is simply unnecessary. W