Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer

by Helen Caldicott

Book Overview

The world-renowned antinuclear activist's "expertly argued" (The Guardian) case against nuclear energy

In a world torn apart by wars over oil, politicians have increasingly begun to look for alternative energy sources--and their leading choice is nuclear energy. Among the myths that have been spread over the years about nuclear-powered electricity are that it does not cause global warming or pollution, that it is inexpensive, and that it...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1595582134
• ISBN13: 9781595582133
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Nuclear Power is NEVER the Answer

Welcome to a world where society decides to power itself by disaster. This is what is portrayed in this book by Dr. Caldicott, a wise and worthy person, a champion of People everywhere who wish to live separate from the nuclear umbrella of nuclear death and destruction. Inside this book You will find details and DANGERS of atomic power generation described by someone with accurate medical and scientific knowledge. As with other books by Helen, sources and claims are well-cited. [...] I relayed information to Dr. Caldicott about Linda Moulton Howe's famous 1980 television exposure titled Strange Harvest (about the ACTUAL descent of advanced unhuman lifeforms into rural military areas in North America amid massive nuclear weapon development), and also the translation of Chernobyl into its more familiar Russian translation as "Black and White", such as "break up the fighting between Black and White races that only profit the human war industries". In return Dr. Caldicott autographed a copy and I donated this to a technical institute library, where students can learn of the true horror of nuclear energy.

Detailed History & analysis

You need to read this book if your govenment is proposing reactors. You will also need to read other books, about dosages and mortalities. Caldicott's earlier work might suffice. HC has a quote from Time magazine Paul Blanche "A knowledgeable terrorist inside a control room can cause a meltdown in fairly short order" Time 20Jun2005 - that sends a chill down the spine. I had hoped that they made reactors kind of 'fail-safe' The tanks of spent fuel, often outside running reactors, require uninterupted pumps, or they might emit huge clouds of radiation. Ghastly. Note to Helen C: the 1996 Tritium leak from Pickering4 was 50 trillion becquerels ie 1300 Curies , not 50 Trillion Curies (page 116). Still Tritium is unpleasant to drink, it gets into your DNA. HC goes into detail about proposed 'Inherently Safe' (sic) pebble reactors. If air gets in, the graphite pebbles catch fire. Wormwood was burning graphite. Previous reviewer undoubtedly eats Welsh Lamb every week. He can be thankful that its still checked for radiation, 20 years after the event.

Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer -- The Title Says it All !

Dr. Helen Caldicott, has written another incredible book! In her magnificent book, Helen shows us: ·Why the claim that nuclear energy is clean and green is very misleading. ·How dangereous it is for the individuals involved in the production of the fuel for nuclear reactors and how devastating it can be for the environment. ·That nuclear energy is not nearly as affordable or competitive with other energies as we have been lead to believe. ·The possibility of a meltdown at any nuclear power plant currently running is very real, and that there have been several very close calls in recent years, putting literally thousands if not millions of peoples' lives at risk. ·How nuclear power plants can contribute to the proliferation of nuclear weapons!! On a brighter note, we learn that: ·Renewable energy promises much more in the way of generating electricity for the world than the nuclear folks would have us believe. ·There is enough wind just between the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River to meet the electricity needs of the entire U.S., three times over. ·Impressive advances in photovoltaic technology, which generates sunlight directly into electricity, have been made in recent years. Compelling, well written and easy to read, I highly recommend "Nuclear Power Is Not The Answer," in which Helen explains clearly how expensive nuclear energy actually is and always will be! Certainly a must read for everyone!

The Case Against

In this book Helen Caldicott covers a wide range of issues involved in the nuclear debate, the many core people involved, both pro and against, and the scientific studies available. She explains the history of and the technology involved in nuclear power in detail and discusses 'green' technology alternatives. Her language and explanations are very clear and I found I quickly read this book from cover to cover being unable to put it down. I do have some minor criticisms and I do mean minor: -the very early part of the book where she is giving an overview she makes a lot of statements without backing them up with explanations or references to sources. This is only a small section but I was a little worried at first the book would be just these wild statements--it definitely isn't and if you keep reading the explanations and references are there. -sometimes she quotes previous books she has written when it is obvious they are not the primary source of the information. I feel I need to read her previous books to locate where the original information comes from. But most of her footnotes are from original sources so a minor irritation -she quotes a few people extensively before she explains who they are. She does explain later but it would be more timely if the key players were introduced at the time they are first quoted I mention these problems here only to encourage people to persevere with the book as the explanations and sources are there if you stick with it and the book quickly gets better and better as you get further along. I buy green energy which means the money I pay for my electricity bill is used to purchase windpower for the electricity grid here in Australia. Green technology and the opportunity for the individual to use it is already here. It costs me a little extra but is worth it to avoid both the drawbacks of coal and nuclear technology.

Global Warming Beats Global Poisoning

Stephen Lendman writes: No one writes with more passion, commitment and knowledge about the immense dangers of nuclear technology in all its forms than Australian physician and nuclear expert Helen Caldicott. Since writing her first book (must reading for everyone), 'Nuclear Madness,' in 1978, Dr. Caldicott has worked tirelessly to expose the real threat this technology from hell poses to human survival. In her first book she wrote: "As a physician, I contend that nuclear technology threatens life on our planet with extinction. If present trends continue, the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink will soon be contaminated with enough radioactive pollutants to pose a potential health hazard far greater than any plague humanity has ever experienced." Dr. Caldicott has now written six important books on nuclear technology and its dangers. Her latestn just publishedn is 'Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer.' In it she's written a carefully documented account of the reasons why. Like her other books, this one, too, is must reading, and those doing it will never forget its vital message. The book is a basic text on all things wrong with commercial nuclear power and why, as Dr. Caldicott explains, this technology must be abandoned before it destroys us as it surely will if its use and proliferation aren't halted everywhere. This book is about commercial nuclear power in contrast to her last one, 'The New Nuclear Danger,' that was a powerful and convincing indictment of the military-industrial complex and its addiction to nuclear weapons of mass destruction and the Pentagon's intent to use them as needed preemptively. Dr. Caldicott makes her convincing case in 10 chapters, each one covering a separate crucial issue about commercial nuclear power. Eight of them explain in detail its dangers and problems, and the two final ones propose sensible and urgently needed solutions so far largely unaddressed. But she begins in her introduction with a clear statement that our government has now embarked on a disingenuous and sinister campaign to sell the acceptability of the use and expansion of commercial nuclear technology to the US public long turned off on it by the near disaster at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania in March, 1979 and the catastrophic Chernobyl meltdown and explosion in the Ukraine in April, 1986. She begins her detailed account that, contrary to government and industry propaganda, nuclear power is neither efficient, reliable, cheap, clean or safe. It's a very sophisticated, expensive and dangerous way to boil water, turn it to steam, which then turns a turbine to generate electricity. Dr. Caldicott explains, contrary to government and industry propaganda, that the generation of nuclear power causes the discharge of significant emissions of greenhouse gases as well as hundreds of thousands of curies of deadly radioactive gases and other radioactive elements into the environment every year. I