Harvey Wasserman is on a renewable energy mission, and he has nuclear reactors in California and Texas in his crosshairs.
Harvey Wasserman on nuclear power plants
Harvey Wasserman is urging us to bite the bullet and move on to renewable energy. He is calling out two nuclear plants, one in Texas and one in California, that he believes need to be closed down now.
For some time, I believed that we would need to form a responsible form of nuclear generation as a pathway to 100% green energy. Brother Wasserman has given me much to think about now. He wrote the following in the article “Say No to Nuclear Power.”
The nuclear power industry has been pushing the fantasy of yet another “renaissance” of nuclear power, based on the absurd idea that atomic reactors — which operate at 571 degrees Fahrenheit, produce substantial greenhouse gas emissions and, periodically, explosions — can somehow cool the planet.
But the fact is that no more big, old-style light water reactors are likely to be built in the United States. And the current 93 licensed reactors in this country (there are 400-plus worldwide) grow increasingly dangerous every day.
As a green power advocate since 1973, I’ve visited dozens of reactor sites throughout the U.S. and Japan. The industry’s backers portray them as high-tech black boxes that are uniformly safe, efficient and reliable, ready to hum for decades without melt-downs, blow-ups or the constant emissions of heat, radiation, chemical pollution and eco-devastation that plague us all.
In reality, the global reactor fleet is riddled with widely varied and increasingly dangerous defects. These range from inherent design flaws to original construction errors, faulty components, fake replacement parts, stress-damaged (“embrittled”) pressure vessels, cracked piping, inoperable safety systems, crumbling concrete, lethal vulnerabilities to floods, storms and earthquakes, corporate greed and unmanageable radioactive emissions and wastes — to name a few.
Heat, radiation and steam have pounded every reactor’s internal components. They are cracked, warped, morphed and transmuted into rickety fossils virtually certain to shatter in the next meltdown.
Wasserman is correct. Based on today’s technology, we probably should stay away from nuclear technology. Bill Gates and others are pushing modular nuclear technology. But it is clear we do not have time to wait for a technology that is not yet mature.
But worse, Stanford-led research found that small modular reactors will exacerbate the challenges of highly radioactive nuclear waste. They will actually generate more radioactive waste than conventional nuclear power plants.
Don’t forget to check out Harvey’s new book “The People’s Spiral of US History.” It tells America’s organic story in six thrilling cycles — from our Indigenous Mother to the imperial Trumpocalyps — and beyond. Fast, fun, and full of fury, this passionate pageant pulls no punches. You’ve NEVER read a history book like this one. Harvey “Sluggo” Wasserman began this telling in 1970, hoping to bend the arc of history toward peace, love & understanding — plus justice, No Nukes, Solartopia, election protection, psychedelic exploration, people’s history, nonviolent action — and our vital leap to green sustainability.
Please watch the entire interview and read the article and let me know what you think.
