Clean technology and environment groups World Council for Renewable Energy and Greenpeace, respectively, called for the banning of nuclear power and phasing out of current plants in light of the dangers in recent events.
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 270 kilometers north of Tokyo, was damaged because of the recent 8.9-magnitude earthquake that was followed by a tsunami. The damage caused the cooling system of the reactors to fail, and now a meltdown is feared to happen.
Currently, Japan is trying to keep the temperature levels of the affected reactors to a reasonable range which they believe can avoid a partial or full meltdown.
Because of the dangers that a nuclear power plant poses, W.C.R.E. insisted on the global and coordinated move to ban all nuclear power.
The organization pointed out that after the incidents in Harrisburg, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima it was time to transition from reliance in nuclear technology to the use of renewable energy.
Along with W.C.R.E., Greenpeace is also advocating the global ban of nuclear technology.
“Nuclear reactors are a dirty and dangerous power source, and will always be vulnerable to the potentially deadly combination of human error, design failure, and natural disaster,” explained Greenpeace.
“Greenpeace is calling for the phase out of existing reactors around the world, and no construction of new commercial nuclear reactors. Governments should instead invest in renewable energy resources that are not only environmentally sound but also affordable and reliable,” the organization added.
Arguing that renewable energy is much more reliable and affordable, Greenpeace conducted a study that shows global figures of how much global nuclear, wind and solar power have been added over the last several years.
Greenpeace data shows that since 2002, wind and solar power have dominated over nuclear power. And by 2010, their data illustrated that wind topped the rank contributing over 36,000 megawatts of energy globally. Solar power followed with 17,000 MW, and nuclear with around 3,000 MW.
Back in 2008, Carlo de Riva, chief executive of E.D.F., a state-owned nuclear company said that if there was backing for renewables, it would undermine nuclear power.
Nuclear technology brings with it the dangers of meltdowns which was responsible for the deaths of thousands back in Chernobyl, radioactivity which can lead to cancer, radiation sickness and genetic mutation, and waste disposal of its byproducts which remains radioactive for thousands of years, Mr. de Riva added.
