The Economist asks why are people afraid of nuclear

March 23, 2021, 3:00PMANS Nuclear Cafe

The Economist published a video earlier this month trying to answer the question of why is nuclear so unpopular. The video is paired with a story that appeared on The Economist's website advocating for a well-regulated nuclear industry. The video starts off with very dramatic images of nuclear weapons and scenes from popular culture like Godzilla, The Simpsons, and the recent HBO miniseries Chernobyl. The video provides a quick history of nuclear science and technology starting with Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace speech in an attempt to prove to the viewer that "nuclear is one of the safest, most reliable, and sustainable forms of energy, and decarbonizing will be much more difficult without it."

The video is almost 15 minutes long and discusses the three major accidents, Three Mile Island (TMI), Chernobyl, and Fukushima, and states that a well-regulated power plant even during an accident won't cause any deaths—TMI and Fukushima being real-world examples. The video also discusses proliferation concerns, nuclear waste, and the future of advanced and small modular reactors.



Tags:
atoms for peaceclean energynuclear powernuclear technologyrenewablesrisksolarthe economistwind
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