I was surprised and pleased to receive a book for Christmas on exactly the topic of this website and blog, “Seeing the Light: the Case for Nuclear Power in the 21st Century,” by Scott Montgomery and Thomas Graham, Jr.
They argue, as I do, that nuclear energy is an essential power source if we are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to slow down global warming and climate change.
The book points out that although many nations claimed they were going to phase out nuclear power following the Fukushima nuclear accident caused by an earthquake in Japan, in fact many have not. Plants that were going to be phased out have been relicensed and continue to operate.
The book disputes the claims that nuclear power is extremely dangerous. Relatively few people, probably less than one hundred, have died directly from major nuclear accidents like Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, and Fukushima.
The book focuses on the main new concern about energy, that traditional fossil fuels are creating greenhouse gases that will soon result in global warming with disastrous consequences, such as rising sea levels and more severe storms. The world will increasingly rely on renewable sources of energy, such as wind and solar, but they cannot supply large amounts of dependable energy the way that nuclear can. Nuclear is not the answer to global warming, but it is part of the answer, a part too important to be ignored because of unjustified fears about its safety.