Imagine for a minute that an amazing technology came along to provide us the ability to have as much energy fifty years from now that we have today. That we as a society in 2057, could drive as big cars as we do now, and that we could keep our houses as warm, and as well lighted as we currently do. That we would never have to give up all our electronic toys, and indeed we could have far more in way of toys.

That would be a great world, right? That’s a definite maybe – particularly if our overconsumption of resources continues to deplete our natural resources, that our landfills continue to pollute our land, that sprawl eats up more beautiful farmland and forest, that we continue to kill in foreign lands, that we continue not to properly educate our children, and that minorities continue to be discriminated against. Nuclear power promises us to give us the ability to live the status quo by harnessing ‘free’ energy from the nuclear atom.

The problem is that energy is not free in any sense. Helen Caldicott points this out ever so eloquently in her book, Nuclear Power is Not the Answer. It turns out not only to nuclear plants pose a significant risk even to far-off neighbors with contamination of nuclear radiation from accidental release, and a difficulty disposing of waste, they also are incredibly polluting and consumptive of resources.

Indeed, if you read Caldicott’s book, you will find out that producing energy from nuclear power emits as much or more carbon dioxide then burning coal, and creates far waste that’s even more difficult to dispose of. Once you finish the book you will realize that not only is nuclear power not the solution to global warming or the upcoming energy crisis, it will only make things worst.

Nuclear power seems great at first. After all, there are no carbon dioxide emissions coming out of the stacks as nothing is burned in the great nuclear core. There is just nuclear fusion happening within a well-controlled environment. Yet, that’s an incredibly narrow perspective on what really happens at a nuclear plant. Refined uranium for nuclear fuel production does not spring up over night.

Nuclear power comes from greatly refined uranium ore, where radioactive ore is greatly refined into a condensed form. This process alone requires a massive amount of energy, largely generated through coal power plants. Digging this uranium up from the earth requires massive diesel-powered equipment that bleaches diesel exhaust. CFCs are released throughout the refining process.

The book is honest about the process and the dangers nuclear poses to mankind. It points out not only that nuclear power is dangerous and consumes massive amounts of resources, it also gives false hope towards the perpetuation of a lifestyle that is unsustainable and that we must as a society move away from. This book is indeed hopeful as it pushes us towards lifestyles that are more sustainable then the one we are currently living.