By Simon Leufstedt
Monday, 11 April, 2011

About the Author

Simon Leufstedt is the editor of Green Blog. Simon has previously studied Global Environmental Justice and is currently studying Human Ecology and Political Science at Lund University in Sweden. Simon is also blogging over at the Swedish 350 website and working with the Swedish TckTckTck organisation. You can follow Simon on Twitter.

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Japanese activists: Nuclear power is not the answer to global warming

One month after the horrifying earthquake and tsunami hit Japan the country is considering raising the severity level of its nuclear crisis to the highest level available. This would put the Japanese nuclear crisis on a par with the Chernobyl accident 25 years ago, the worst nuclear power disaster in history.

Since the problems at the Fukushima nuclear power plant unfolded there have been raging a heated debate over the future of nuclear energy. Such as the debate between George Monbiot and Helen Caldicott over at the Guardian.

In this presentation (below) from 2008 Aileen Mioko Smith, executive director of the Kyoto-based NGO Green Action, talks about how nuclear power can’t fight global warming. Over the next decade there will be ZERO additional contribution from nuclear power in the fight to combat global warming, she says. Other flaws with nuclear energy is the fact that the construction takes too long, and that the costs are rising. She says that nuclear power is unreliable for fighting global warming due to accidents, mismanagement and earthquakes. Watch it:

Other news from Japan: 17,500 gather for Tokyo rallies against nuclear plants, Kyodo news agency report.

”We’ve learned that nuclear plants cannot be controlled by human power,” said photographer Gentaro Todaka, 34, among the participants. ”We hope to halt the Hamaoka plant which is said to be the most dangerous, and the campaign to halt nuclear plants will spread elsewhere.”

For more updates on the Fukushima crisis you can also follow us on Twitter.

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  • http://twitter.com/simonleuf Simon Leufstedt

    Yes! This presentation is spot-on. We simply don’t have the time needed for nuclear energy, and the money needed would be better and more productively spent on renewable energy.

  • Pingback: ¿Es necesario que ocurra una catástrofe para decir alto a la energía nuclear? | LookVerde

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.k.montgomery Michael Montgomery

    This article is the reason why economist should take time out of their busy day to make change. Nuclear energy is not what is needed to make a better environment or create better living conditions. Since the nuclear plant exploded their have been problems not only for local people, but people all over the world. We need to start understanding what our effects on the earth are doing to everyone.

    • http://www.facebook.com/michael.k.montgomery Michael Montgomery

      This article is the reason why economist should take time out of their busy day to make change. Nuclear energy is not what is needed to make a better environment or create better living conditions. Since the nuclear plant exploded their have been problems not only for local people, but people all over the world. We need to start understanding what our effects on the earth are doing to everyone.

      Stacy Ayiers-
      AZBIGMEdia Green Blogger
      http://aznow.biz/green/mobile-applications-help-business-sustainability

  • http://twitter.com/QuenchWater Quench Water

    Very nice. I really hope this makes the rounds more now than it did it 2008.

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