Daniel Oberhaus on Wired writes that Germany’s rejection of nuclear power has led to their emissions rising.
The anti-nuclear movement has led to more pollution, less reliable energy, and higher cost of electricity. The United States must learn from countries such as Germany and embrace nuclear energy.
“Altogether, the researchers calculated that the increased carbon emissions and deaths caused by local air pollution amounted to a social cost of about $12 billion per year. The study found that this dwarfs the cost of keeping nuclear power plants online by billions of dollars, even when the risks of a meltdown and the cost of nuclear waste storage are considered. ‘People overestimate the risk and damages from a nuclear accident,’ says Akshaya Jha, an economist at Carnegie Mellon and an author of the study. ‘It’s also clear that people don’t realize the cost of local air pollution is pretty severe. It’s a silent killer.’”
Read the full article here.
The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.
