A Warming World Needs Nuclear Power
More than a third of America's nuclear plants could close in the next decade. But when plants shut down, utilities often turn to harmful fossil fuels.
Keep Three Mile Island open to protect the climate.
Photographer: Jeff Fusco/Getty ImagesIn light of the recent stark warning from the United Nations that the world is on course to reach the limit of tolerable warming in a scant 21 years, nuclear power is getting some overdue attention and enthusiasm.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is coming around to the view that nuclear power has a crucial role in climate protection. The Nature Conservancy, long silent on nuclear, is calling for capacity to be expanded — enough to provide a third of the world’s energy by 2050 (from a little more than a tenth today). Most striking of all, the Union of Concerned Scientists — a leading watchdog for nuclear safety for decades — is now pushing to prevent existing plants closing before their time.