Cleaning Up After Greenpeace

For the past several months, my blogging has taken a backseat to my education and internship.  I’m sure no one would argue that this is a poor decision–I am a student, after all. But if one organization can inspire me to blog,  it’s Greenpeace.

Greenpeace consistently points fingers at those who they feel are destroying this planet by leaving a mess. In particular, they like to gang up on nuclear energy saying that it is by no means a clean energy source and anyone who believes otherwise simply must be under the influence of  “nuclear industry PR(opaganda)”. Am I the only one who finds this disturbing? That the cleanest method of  meeting the world’s energy needs is being hindered by Greenpeace, an organization that claims to protect our planet? The scariest part of all is that people read this “information”, and believe it. So really, the biggest mess being created is the lies spread around the world by these anti-nuclear organizations.

Ok, so maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. But the fact remains that nuclear is the cleanest and safest large-scale energy source, and the more we hinder its progression, the more damage we do to the earth. How many lives are lost each year as a direct result of the coal industry? How many tons of carbon dioxide are emitted? How many natural gas explosions and coal mining accidents have to occur before we see the solution? I fully support the development and implementation of solar and wind technologies, but I also acknowledge that the world’s energy needs have exceeded what renewable resources can provide. We simply can’t run on renewables alone. To suggest that we can is misleading and untruthful.

For those who doubt whether nuclear is truly our cleanest option, I can’t say I blame you. With so many different energy views permeating all aspects of media, why should you believe me over anyone else with a blog and an opinion? In short, you shouldn’t. Instead, you should look for the numbers and use them as your guide. Here are a couple of links, just to get you started:

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf02.html

http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/07/per-peterson-information-on-steel-and.html

http://www.ourenergyworld.com/CA_PER.htm

Compare the numbers on cleanliness of renewables versus nuclear. Check out the capacity factors. See for yourself why more countries are looking to nuclear power all the time. Don’t let the filth spread  by anti-nuclear organizations hide the truth about our energy needs as a planet.

Greenpeace asserts that their mission is to “address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change”. Yet they have the audacity to smear the media with lies surrounding our greatest opportunity for a cleaner future. So who is going to clean  up after Greenpeace?