DiaNuke.org

Nuclear power is slowly going out of style. Back in 1996, atomic energy supplied 17.6 percent of the world’s electricity. Today that’s down to just 10.8 percent — and it could drop even further in the years ahead.

Robert Jacobs | Almost all parts of Japanese (and that of every nation’s) nuclear policy are governed by one overarching principle: money. Cost saving practices exacerbated the Fukushima Daiichi plant meltdowns, money defines almost every aspect of policy towards those affected by the nuclear disaster, money dictates that the idled reactors must be restarted, and money is the reason Japanese nuclear exports have hit high gear in places like Vietnam and India.

Even zealous supporters of nuclear power should logically concede three things to their opponents. First, after Fukushima, it’s natural for people everywhere to be deeply sceptical of the claimed safety of nuclear power, and for governments to phase out atomic programmes, as is happening in countries like Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and now Japan.

The technological issue of nuclear energy is intertwined with the exploitation of human labor in a hierarchy of interests, and how human labor is expended is an economic and moral issue.