Germany’s Nuclear Exit: Dropping Nuclear Power Has Brought Economic and Environmental Benefits

By Washington's Blog

Global Research, November 03, 2012

Washington's Blog

Region: Europe

Theme: Environment

Case Study Proves that Nuclear Is Bad for the Economy and Environment
We’ve previously documented that nuclear power is expensive and bad for the environment.  Investing in nuclear technology crowds out developing clean energy.   And people that think that nuclear is necessary to prevent climate change may have fallen prey to propaganda from the nuclear lobby.
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists just published a special issue providing stunning new evidence to back this up.
As PhysOrg reported yesterday:
A special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, published by SAGE, “The German Nuclear Exit,” shows that the nuclear shutdown and an accompanying move toward renewable energy are already yielding measurable economic and environmental benefits, with one top expert calling the German phase-out a probable game-changer for the nuclear industry worldwide.
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Freie Universität Berlin politics professor Miranda Schreuers says the nuclear phase-out and accompanying shift to renewable energy have brought financial benefits to farmers, investors, and small business;
Felix Matthes of the Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin concludes the phase-out will have only small and temporary effects on electricity prices and the German economy;
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Lutz Mez, co-founder of Freie Universitӓt Berlin’s Environmental Policy Research Center, presents what may be the most startling finding of all …. “It has actually decoupled energy from economic growth, with the country’s energy supply and carbon-dioxide emissions dropping from 1990 to 2011, even as its gross domestic product rose by 36 percent.”
Big oil or coal are not the answer.  Microgeneration is the key.