US Gov’t: Fukushima an “unprecedented wide-area” disaster — Nuclear power threatens human existence — Japan “profoundly impacted” by radiation, scale of damage is “extraordinary”
NENews.com
September 30th, 2014
The Hill, Sept. 29, 2014 (emphasis added): Outgoing Energy Department Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman said Monday that climate change, and nuclear energy are the two “existential threats” facing the U.S. In his last speech as the No. 2 [official] at the Department of Energy, Poneman [said Monday] “By my count there are exactly two issues that I think could be characterized as existential threats, meaning threats that actually relate to existence of our planet, and one’s nuclear and one’s climate”… Poneman played up the role of nuclear in dealing with climate change and replacing carbon-intensive fossil fuels, touting its benefits more than its potential dangers. While citing environmental concerns surrounding nuclear, and radiation dangers posed by meltdowns like the devastating Fukushima Diiachi plant in Japan in 2011, Poneman said, the “world is in fact returning to nuclear.” He admitted that the scale of damages from the Fukushima plant disaster were “extraordinary”… When asked if he was behind nuclear a main source of dealing with climate change, Poneman said he’s a “realist.” “We need to be safe, we need to address proliferation issues,” he said. “But it has a role to play in our low carbon future.”… Still, concerns from environmentalists remain as recent reports have highlighted weaknesses in nuclear facilities ability to handle natural disasters…
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