Nuclear technology is making huge progress worldwide. Simultaneously, a rising number of people realise the value of nuclear energy for the climate and nature. And attitudes are starting to change in the media.
In 2013 the documentary Pandora’s Promise caused a sensation: It portrayed young people who, in the interests of the climate and environment, had gone from opposing nuclear power to avidly embracing it. Today, this no longer seems odd: Politicians and journalists around the world are asking themselves how we can really lower our emissions – and what role nuclear energy can play in this. In particular, the “new” nuclear power of the so-called fourth generation is a game changer. It promises inherent safety and waste avoidance, which would render key anti-nuclear arguments obsolete.
New nuclear energy is a game changer
And now the German press are also broaching the subject. It started with interviews with technology historian and pro-nuclear activist Anna Veronika Wendland in Der Spiegel and Cicero in spring 2019. In October Die Zeit followed suit with Rainer Klute, chairman of the Nuklearia association, who explained the opportunities and possibilities of new nuclear energy in a full-page article. The comment section went crazy. In November, Der Spiegel was brave enough to publish a multi-page article that was exclusively devoted to new nuclear energy and asked: “Is the German nuclear phase-out a mistake?” Since then, it’s as if the floodgates have been opened. In July, Anna Veronika Wendland demanded in Die Zeit: “Stop the nuclear phase-out”; a short time later the Focus headline ran: “Nuclear power, yes please!“. Focus also mentions Dual Fluid as protagonists of new nuclear power.
The new press coverage shows: Germany is not an island. Everywhere nuclear technology is making remarkable progress. Questioning the nuclear phase-out is therefore again an issue. And with good reason.
Click here to see the movie Pandora’s Promise by Robert Stone:
Bild © Sebastian / stock.adobe.com