Nuclear Power is Not the Answer

Dr. Helen Caldicott The New Press, 2006. 221 pp.

By Shirley Farlinger (reviewer) | 2006-10-01 12:00:00

The peace movement began for most of us with the film If You Love This Planet, a National Film Board documentary of a lecture by Dr. Helen Caldicott. It is still available. Her message was that doctors couldn't be called upon to heal the burnt and injured in a nuclear war; the only reasonable course is prevention. Her books included Missile Envy, The New Nuclear Danger, and now Nuclear Power is Not the Answer, a rebuff to those who are advocating nuclear power as a remedy for climate change. Since Canada is both a major contributor to carbon emissions and a global supplier of uranium ore for nuclear power (and weapons) this book is timely. Her research into the problems of running nuclear reactors and putting nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain is impressive. The conclusion is that nuclear power is the biggest mistake mankind has ever made. And Canada is following this nightmare scenario. Nuclear waste could be coming to a town near you, transported on roads near you, all at your expense. The final section on renewable energy, conservation and efficiency add a hopeful note to a discouraging book.

Both reviews on this page are by Shirley Farlinger, a Toronto writer and activist.