David's World

April 16, 2006

Nuclear Power

Fifteen, twenty years ago, teen-age David read a book titled "The Cloud", Die Wolke. A thriller for young readers puts the dangerous potential of nuclear plants into perspective. A horrific story: after an accident at a big nuclear facility, millions of people get stranded, wander along traffic jams full with families trying to escape the radioactive cloud moving towards them.

A decade on, Germany's social-democrats followed the big fears of a generation. They replaced the long-running Helmut-Kohl administration. They mandated the end of nuclear engery in Germany - albeit with a 30-year time-frame. In the following years, German solar-cell manufactorers gained a world-leading position in their market.

I was happy for Germany to move on at the time. But with warning signs of global warming becoming stronger and scientists all over the world pointing out what's going to happen over the next 50, 100 years, I wonder if we and maybe our summer-of-69 parents need to revise our view of nuclear power.
After all, modern, western-style light water reactors can be considered much safer than what melted in 1986 in Chernobyl. Nuclear energy is free of emissions, provided the nuclear waste produced can be contained. Greenpeace-founder Patrick Moore has already changed his mind about nuclear power.

Burning coal and other fossil fuels has been destroying our atmosphere. Solar cells and wind energy is not going to produce enough electricity for a long time. Isn't nuclear power the lesser of all evils?

FYI: Stewart Brand, the founder of "The Whole Earth Catalog" mentioned in Mr. Moore's article, has also endorsed my thriller novel of nuclear power as a way for the lay person to learn the good and the bad of this energy source.

"Rad Decision" is available online at no cost to readers at http://RadDecision.blogspot.com - - and they seem to like it, judging from the reviews they're leaving at the homepage. There's nothing else like it out there.

Oh yes - I believe the German book you mentioned may have recently been made into a movie.

Regards,

James Aach
20+ years in the nuclear industry.

"I'd like to see Rad Decision widely read." - Stewart Brand.

"Very nice, good pace. The tech was good but not overwhelming." - a reader.

"I started reading Rad Decision because of my interest in nuclear power -- then found I could not put it down! -- another reader.