Does nuclear energy have a future?

Contributed To HellasFrappe By Protesilaos Stavrou
PS Protesilaos Stavrou

Several events are taking place these days, in the memory of the tragedy that hit Japan a year ago, when a tsunami triggered uncontrollable reactions to a nuclear plant in Fukushima, leading to a nuclear crisis, with far-reaching effects on the environment, the society and the economy.

The compelling catastrophe, has ever-since given birth to a rather controversial debate over how should our societies satisfy their energy needs.

Should the limits of the planet be respected and should environmental responsibility be given priority in policy-making, or should human needs be met by the most cost-efficient way possible, regardless of the potential collateral damage?

Moreover is an environmentally-oriented transformation of the economic model of our societies, a task that we must urgently materialize, or the time is not yet right to proceed in such deep reforms in the way we allocate our resources?

Is there place for nuclear energy in our era, given that the ramifications of such programmes can be far-reaching as the tragedy of Fukushima has demonstrated? Or can nuclear energy be a safe choice for current and future generations, who realize its potential benefits that greatly outnumber its costs?

These and many others are the questions that people and policymakers have been called to answer over the years and especially ever since the disaster at Fukushima.

Within this context the European platform for political debates, Debating Europe, holds today a live discussion on the fate of nuclear energy in the European Union with Patrick Moore, Co-founder of Greenpeace, Chair and Chief Scientist of Greenspirit Strategies in Vancouver, and Jo Leinen MEP, Member and former Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on the Environment.

You can watch the debate LIVE today between 18h00 and 19h00 CET by visiting the website of Debating Europe - click here to be directed to the video stream.

Given that the issue is very important for our present and future and after taking into account the high quality of the work done by the people at Debating Europe, I highly recommended this debate to everyone who is interested in the issue.