We examine the true costs of nuclear energy and whether it is truly necessary as we transition to a sustainable energy economy. Starting in the 1950’s there was a Uranium Rush in the US that dwarfed the Gold Rush and left behind more than ten thousand abandoned uranium mines that continue to pollute the air, land and water today and cause serious public health problems. This is the dirty beginning of nuclear energy. Klee Benally of Clean Up The Mines! speaks about the impacts of uranium mining and the national campaign to clean up the abandoned uranium mines. Leona Morgan of Diné No Nukes speaks about the impacts of these mines and her community’s work to stop mining and restore health. Then Tim Judson of the Nuclear Information and Resource Service will describe how the nuclear industry is prohibiting sustainable energy and positioning itself to be the solution to the climate crisis.
Listen here:
The Nuclear Industry is the Problem with Klee Benally, Leona Morgan and Tim Judson by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Relevant articles and websites:
The Government is Propping Up the Nuclear Industry and We’re Paying for It by Leslie Macmillan
Fact Sheet: Why Nukes Can’t Save the Planet
Nuclear Energy is Dirty Energy by NIRS
Petition to comment to EPA on Nuclear Power
Guests:
Leona Morgan is with Diné No Nukes and has served with the MASE Coalition (Multicultural Alliance for a Safe Environment), as well as WMAN (Western Mining Action Network)/CARD (Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping).
Klee Benally is the coordinator of the national Clean Up The Mines! campaign. He works on a host of environmental issues and protection of sacred sites. He also runs Indigenous Action Media and Outta Your Backpack Media.
Tim Judson is the Acting Executive Director of NIRS. Appointed January 1, 2014; joined NIRS September 2013 as Associate Director. Chair of the Board of Citizens Awareness Network, a leader in successful campaign to close the Vermont Yankee reactor; co-founder of Alliance for a Green Economy in New York.