Readers rail against nuclear power on Chernobyl anniversary
Disasters past and present have prompted readers to reconsider nuclear power.
The 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and current events at Fukushima in Japan have prompted many Deutsche Welle readers to express their concern over the use of nuclear technology.
The following comments reflect the views of DW-WORLD.DE readers. DW-WORLD.DE reserves the right to edit for length and appropriateness of content.
What do you think of when you hear “Chernobyl”?
I think of the toxic rain. My brother was a little child and I wasn’t born yet. My parents brought him far from my town for a week, to a region where it rained less. – Chiara, Italy
This was the year before I went from America to study in Germany. We tried, but could find no info at the German embassy about what effects the disaster might have for people like us moving to Germany (there was no response to my parents’ letter). Such a tragedy. – Deborah, USA
The downfall of the Soviet Union. The independence of Ukraine. A heavy price to pay, but Ukraine has paid much, anyway. I hope this can all be fixed over time. – Walter
It’s a lesson for man: Prometheus had extreme punishment for giving fire to man. Now a new “fire” has been created by him. And the cost is his own extinction. – Singalong
A horrible disaster, but definitely not relevant to the current nuclear power situation. Definitely overused by those who wish to scare the public. – Daniel, Scotland
Ukraine at the time was under the USSR. The explosion, due to negligence by nuclear experts, killed thousands of people and caused homelessness and property destruction. – Gustav, Tanzania
Should Russians be concerned about the safety of their nuclear power plants?
Everybody should be concerned about the safety of their nuclear plants! – Maria, Argentina
Nuclear plants are a concern everywhere around the world. Russians don’t care what anyone thinks – especially their own people. – Roberta
Yes, of course. But, while we watch the easier targets, don’t forget the responsibilities that other nations should adopt. Can we please focus on the more timely, destructive issue of atmospheric pollution? – David
Are you willing to pay more for green energy?
Until they are safely dismantled, reactors are a constant danger to entire regions around them. It is a real Looney Tunes industry. Even while the whole world was watching the Fukushima reactors exploding, Tepco was misinforming the public that it was “nothing to worry about; you can still eat the fish.” Most countries just want reactors to be able to build weapons, and don’t care if it is the people in their own country who will end up getting irradiated before anyone else. – Philip, Canada
Compiled by Shant Shahrigian
Editor: Susan Houlton
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And of course the usual scaremongering tactics by the PTB
German Nuclear Exit May Boost Power Prices 30%, BDI Group Says
By Nicholas Comfort - Apr 26, 2011 12:36 PM GMT+0100
Germany’s plan to accelerate its exit from nuclear power generation may raise electricity prices by as much as 30 percent, the BDI German industry lobby said.
The permanent halt of eight reactors and the closure of the remaining plants by 2018 could boost wholesale power prices to 70 euros ($102) a megawatt-hour that year, according to a study commissioned by the BDI and published April 24 on its website.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy and largest energy user, plans to exit nuclear power after explosions at Japanese reactors stoked safety concerns. Higher prices could threaten chemical- and metal producers while utilities lose plants that can be more profitable than fossil-fuel-fired units, RWE AG (RWE), the country’s second-largest energy supplier, said last week.
The exit would generate additional costs of 33 billion euros by 2020, of which industrial and commercial energy users will pay 24 billion euros, as utilities employ more expensive power generation and demand for carbon-dioxide emission permits rises, the BDI said. The figure would rise to 51 billion euros if subsidies for developing renewable energy and the German power grid are included, the lobby group said on its website.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said April 15 that she will put plans to boost renewable energy output, build power grids and phase out nuclear electricity to Cabinet in June. She hasn’t specified a date for the exit.
The study assumes that 50 percent of the output shortfall from Germany’s reactors will be plugged in the “short-term” by imports and the remainder by coal- and natural-gas-fired generators. That would raise the energy industry’s CO2 emissions to 282 million metric tons in 2018, 28 percent more than the German government had planned, the BDI said.
The study was conducted by r2b energy consulting GmbH, a Cologne, Germany-based company that provides advice to the energy industry, energy users and political institutions, according to its website.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Comfort in Frankfurt at ncomfort1@bloomberg.net
bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-2 … -says.html