In In Eurpoe, especially the northern Germanic world that missed part of the enlightenment of the scientific revolution, there prevails a non rational feature of romantic world view that can be almost religious. Recently, it was caracterized as "doomsday folklore" by the important German paper der Spiegel. One method used is to manipulate the language like in the famous book "1984": It is said that nuclear energy is an old technique. However, compared to combustion which is really an atomic energy technique breaking bonds between atoms, nuclear energy is modern. Looking at risks, it is realized by the European Union that particles from combustion cost some 300000 Europeans deaths every year. This is not a risk; it really happes every year. I don´t know the figure for the US, but could imagine it is of the same order.
I recommend a look at "loss of life expectancy" to evaluate risks in life.
We should minimize fossile fuels. We are smarter than hundreds of years ago!
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The Radioactive Energy Plan
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Merkel, whose modus operandi is to avoid open conflict, has pledged her adherence to the status quo until after the election. The government's own Council of Environmental Advisors, which is supposed to develop Germany's long-term environmental strategy, talks about everything—except nuclear energy. Miranda Schreurs, a council member who directs the Environmental Policy Research Center at Berlin's Free University, says the debate has started to become a more rational one, but centers only on the life extension of currently operating plants. Despite the emboldened CDU parliamentarians, building new reactors is still a nonstarter for most Germans. Merkel herself has ruled out new construction. "The old taboo is still there," says Schreurs.
Even more complicated is the SPD's position. The SPD's Environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, clings to wildly ambitious numbers for the use of wind and solar power to replace both nuclear energy as well as coal, which has lately also become a target of environmental protests. Any new debate over nuclear energy is seen by the SPD leadership as yet another threat to party unity at a time when masses of members and voters are abandoning the SPD for the far-left Linkspartei; an early August Forsa poll had the SPD at a historic low of 22 percent. Divisions are emerging already. In August, an SPD arbitration commission voted to expel Clement from the party, describing his attack on a fellow party member for her antinuclear policy as "damaging behavior."
The situation remains frozen at least until after next year's election. But the sudden change in mood proves that even for hyperenvironmentalist Germans, their emotional convictions aren't immune to the reality that nuclear energy cuts both CO2 and the bill for imported fuel. With the SPD imploding and Merkel's chances of getting her coalition of choice with the Free Democrats growing ever so slowly, the day when Germany drops its plan to kill its nukes is getting a little closer.
© 2008
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