Book Review: Nuclear Is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change

Copyright: 2024 by M.V. Ramana

Reviewed by Sharon and Ace Hoffman

Physicist M.V. Ramana has studied nuclear power policies worldwide. Currently Ramana is a professor of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia. Previous positions include researcher at the Princeton Program on Science and Global Security and at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore, India. Accolades include a Guggenheim Fellowship and the American Physical Society’s Leo Szilard Award.

Ramana's most recent book, Nuclear Is Not the Solution, shows why nuclear power cannot combat climate change and has no place in the planet’s energy portfolio: It costs too much, takes too long to build, encourages weapons proliferation, and contaminates the environment.

People who promote nuclear power often start with the lie that it is clean energy. Ramana refutes this by describing the environmental destruction nuclear power actually causes, starting with mining uranium ore and continuing through each phase, including the unsolvable problem it leaves: “… we can neither unmake radioactive wastes once they are created nor bury them in a manner that we can be absolutely sure they will never come back out.” (page 61).

He describes the powerful economic and political forces that promote nuclear power, and exposes the false promises of “small-modular reactors” (“SMRs”) and other supposedly “advanced” designs such as liquid sodium reactors. These designs do not address the underlying problems with nuclear power – and they've all already been tried – unsuccessfully – in the past.

It takes nearly a decade to build a typical nuclear power plant, whereas utility-scale wind or solar can be built in under two years. When planning, permitting and financing are included, the disparity is even larger. Climate solutions cannot wait.

Nuclear Is Not the Solution makes obvious what nuclear proponents try to ignore: “… today the most cost-effective and quickest way of reducing air pollution is to replace coal and natural gas with renewable sources of power.” (page 45).

Nuclear energy in the United States costs $168/kWh (2021 data), while wind-generated energy costs $38/kWh and utility-scale solar energy costs $34/kWh. Renewable energy prices are declining while the cost of nuclear power continues to increase.

Why do governments continue to pour money into nuclear power? One reason is the connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, including guaranteed jobs for nuclear plant operators when they leave the military.

Politicians and government agencies are also influenced by corporations and by wealthy individuals who have a stake in nuclear projects. The potential profit equation is simple: government subsidies, guaranteed customers, and indemnity from risk. All governments severely limit potential payouts from nuclear accidents (in the U.S. this is done through the Price-Anderson Act).

In addition to economics, Nuclear Is Not the Solution covers the inevitability of future nuclear accidents: “Accidents, almost by definition, are chaotic, occurring due to reasons that engineers fail to consider …”. (page 39) As a Fukushima protester’s sign says: “They say that the probability of a reactor meltdown is one in a million years / In my lifetime, three meltdowns.” (page 26)

As in his previous books and articles, Ramana's writing is clear and concise. He also provides numerous references to back up his conclusions about nuclear power.

If you only read one book on nuclear energy – or even if you've read hundreds of books on the subject, THIS is one of the best, both to read, and to recommend to anyone you know who wants to learn the truth about nuclear power.

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Also by M. V. Ramana (and also excellent!):
The Power of Promise: Examining Nuclear Energy In India (2012)

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