The article by Jeanne Goldberg is an essential contribution, not just on unjustified fears related to radiation but on the role of nuclear energy in climate change mitigation (“From the Spectral to the Spectrum: Radiation in the Crosshairs,” September/October 2018).
Anti-nuclear paranoia has been the principal reason for the failure of climate change policy over the past decades. In Germany, the populist decision of the government to phase out of nuclear power has kept emissions high with Germany failing all its set targets. Germany, as some other regions of the world, continues to uphold the 100 percent renewable illusion.
A major part of the problem is that too many climate scientists, unlike climate science pioneer James Hansen, have joined the anti-nuclear bandwagon and put their belief in a completely unsubstantiated 100 percent renewable future. We have come to a climate orthodoxy that goes well beyond climate science per se and encompasses other fields.