The Doomsday Machine

The High Price of Nuclear Energy, the World's Most Dangerous Fuel

Martin Cohen, Andrew McKillop

• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780230338340
• eBook ISBN: 9781137000347
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Environment & Energy Policy

Today, there are over one hundred nuclear reactors operating in our backyards, from Indian Point in New York to Diablo Canyon in California. Proponents claim that nuclear power is the only viable alternative to fossil fuels, and due to rising energy consumption and the looming threat of global warming, they are pushing for an even greater investment. Here, energy economist Andrew McKillop and social scientist Martin Cohen argue that the nuclear power dream being sold to us is pure fantasy. Debunking the multilayered myth that nuclear energy is cheap, clean, and safe, they demonstrate how landscapes are ravaged in search of the elusive yellowcake to fuel the reactors, and how energy companies and politicians rarely discuss the true costs of nuclear power plants - from the subsidies that build the infrastructure to the unspoken guarantee that the public will pick up the cleanup cost in the event of a meltdown, which can easily top $100 billion dollars.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Notice
• Contents
• Foreword by Steve Thomas
• INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
• MYTH 1 Nuclear Energy Is the Energy of the Future
• MYTH 2 Nuclear Power Is Green
• MYTH 3 Nuclear Reactors Are Reliable and Safe
• MYTH 4 Nuclear Energy Is “Too Cheap to Meter”
• MYTH 5 Nuclear Power Trumps Geopolitics
• MYTH 6 Nuclear Energy Is Very Clean
• MYTH 7 Nuclear Radiation Is Harmless
• MYTH 8 Everyone Wants to Invest in Nuclear Energy
• AFTERWORD Where Now? Searching for Solutions to the Riddle of the Insatiable Demand for Energy
• Glossary
• Notes
• Index
• Copyright