Nuclear Roulette: The Truth about the Most Dangerous Energy Source on Earth

by Gar Smith, Ernest Callenbach (Foreword), Jerry Mander (Foreword)

Nuclear power is not clean, cheap, or safe. With Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, the nuclear industry's record of catastrophic failures now averages one major disaster every decade. After three US-designed plants exploded in Japan, many countries moved to abandon reactors for renewables. In the United States, however, powerful corporations and a compliant government still defend nuclear power-while promising billion-dollar bailouts to operators. Each new disaster demonstrates that the nuclear industry and governments lie to "avoid panic," to preserve the myth of "safe, clean" nuclear power, and to sustain government subsidies. Tokyo and Washington both covered up Fukushima's radiation risks and-when confronted with damning evidence-simply raised the levels of "acceptable" risk to match the greater levels of exposure. Nuclear Roulette dismantles the core arguments behind the nuclear-industrial complex's "Nuclear Renaissance." While some critiques are familiar-nuclear power is too costly, too dangerous, and too unstable-others are Nuclear Roulette exposes historic links to nuclear weapons, impacts on Indigenous lands and lives, and the ways in which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission too often takes its lead from industry, rewriting rules to keep failing plants in compliance. Nuclear Roulette cites NRC records showing how corporations routinely defer maintenance and lists resulting "near-misses" in the US, which average more than one per month. Nuclear Roulette chronicles the problems of aging reactors, uncovers the costly challenge of decommissioning, explores the industry's greatest seismic risks-not on California's quake-prone coast but in the Midwest and Southeast-and explains how solar flares could black out power grids, causing the world's 400-plus reactors to self-destruct. This powerful exposé concludes with a roundup of proven and potential energy solutions that can replace nuclear technology with a "Renewable Renaissance," combined with conservation programs that can cleanse the air, and cool the planet.

Genres: Environment

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Mark E. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential reference for everyone who wishes to know the extent of the dangers of the nuclear age and how governments lie about those dangers even when the truth is obvious to anyone capable of even the most cursory research.

This is a good companion book to Chernobyl: Crime Without Punishment as the same impunity is evident not only with Fukushima, but also with all the other nuclear disasters we weren't told about or were told were safe.

The reason for nuclear power plants is to provide fuel for nuclear weapons, not to provide electric power, which is merely a profitable side business that increases both public acceptance and public risk at the same time.

We, the living creatures of earth, are nothing but collateral damage to the nuclear weapons industry, which exists only to enhance the ability of governments to kill millions, billions, or even all of us at once.

Although this book contains all the information about the nuclear age that anyone could desire and more, I wish it had been a bigger book, as another great use for it would have been to bash the well-meaning but totally misguided proponents of technology and progress over the head. We don't have the intelligence, maturity, and wisdom to handle technology and progress. Until and unless we evolve to something akin to a much higher species, a possibility which global pollution and climate change seem to have already precluded, we should stick to appropriate and sustainable technologies that we can control without committing mass genocide or suicide.

We, as a species, grew 'too soon old and too late wise.'

Five stars.

[Leslie D. Soule · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides plenty of information about the dangers of nuclear power. It is frightening, but definitely a good read, and very enlightening.
Anyway, 2 more books to go, in 2 days, to reach my goal of 40 for the year 2015. GO ME, GO!