Almost daily, the barrackers for nuclear power notch up a small new victory. With each gloomy media mention about global warming or fossil fuels, the nuclear industry can boast: We’ve got the clean answer.
It’s still a hard case to sell to Australians who, after all, have long enjoyed a massive abundance of cheap coal and who last seriously thought about going nuclear 35 years ago.
But there’s no dodging the issue any more. Australia is a notorious greenhouse polluter because of its coal addiction. It owns some of the world’s greatest uranium reserves and is poised to expand its sales to other countries, fueling their economic growth. Now, politicians from both sides of the fence are saying: Let’s bring on a debate about nuclear power at home.
In the conservation movement - once monolithic in its opposition to anything nuclear – fissures are appearing. Anti-nuclear warrior Peter Garrett argues that going nuclear is a neat but dangerous excuse for ignoring renewable energies like solar and wind. But former Greenpeace leader Paul Gilding praises the nuclear industry for bringing climate change to center stage.
Is Australia’s aversion to nuclear power soundly based? Or are there lessons to be learned from other countries’ experience?
This program examines how Australia compares to Scandinavian nations, which have wrestled with meager fossil fuel resources, acid rain from their neighbors’ coal-fired power, and the radioactive fallout from Chernobyl. The contrast is astounding.
Spotlight is a weekly series of investigative reports from around the world, introduced by author and Journalist Mark Hertsgaard. Mr. Hertsgaard’s latest book is “The Eagle's Shadow: Why America Fascinates and Infuriates the World"."
To learn more about this program, visit the BBC's program page.
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Spotlight Related Websites:
Rocky Mountain Institute
The Nuclear Energy Institute
World Nuclear Association
Australian Conservation Foundation
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Nuclear Files - Project of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
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