Nuclear power has been a controversial topic since its start.  Nuclear power was originally used for the production and manufacturing of weapons, leading many to believe it would have a harmful impact on our society.  Anti-nuclear activists argue that continuing the support for nuclear power will have major negative effects on our health and the environment.  The pro-nuclear documentary Pandora’s Promise, directed by Robert Stone, argues that nuclear power is not what anti-nuclear activists make it out to be.  The documentary starts out by showing anti-nuclear protests and explaining misconceptions about nuclear power.  These protests included songs against nuclear power and chanting things like “No more nukes!”

Misconceptions about nuclear power, such as it causes cancer, give it a bad name.  At the beginning of the film Michael Shellenberger, who is now pro-nuclear, stated he always believed nuclear power was “something sinister” and a “lurking danger”.  Mark Lynas also stated, “I was against nuclear power because I am an environmentalist.”  The film attributes these views to “scare tactics” used to stop the nuclear power industry.  Scare tactics included reports of millions of deaths dues to exposure to radiation, shortened life spans due to exposure to radiation and genetic consequences that will last for many years to come.  After research conducted by respected health organizations, these were proven to be false.  The Chernobyl accident is the perfect example of this. The Chernobyl accident happened when a nuclear reactor, that was later deemed unsafe due to a design flaw and serious mistakes made by workers, exploded.  The explosion killed many workers and sent radiation into the atmosphere. Anti- nuclear activist made claims of millions of deaths and illnesses caused by this accident.  When researched by respected health experts, a direct link between exposure to radiation and deaths could not be found in most cases.  Also, the accident did not result in millions of deaths.

Later in the film, the benefits of nuclear power are discussed. Nuclear power would provide us with a clean, unlimited source of energy.  Nuclear energy produces steam and no carbon dioxide, meaning it is better for the environment.  Coal, which is where most of energy comes from, is the most dangerous out of all the sources of energy.  When coal is burned it releases carbon dioxide along with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury compounds (epa.gov).  These are harmful to our environment and our health.  The film also states that coal usage has the highest mortality rate and nuclear has one of the lowest.  Some might say waste produced by nuclear power is the most harmful, however, nuclear power produces has significantly lower amount of wastes.  Also, technological advances are ensuring nuclear accidents do not happen in the future.

Emissions associated with fossil fuels are not released by nuclear energy.  Nuclear energy is a clean and safe way to produce energy, which is essential because energy usage is expected to increase dramatically by the end of the century.   Not supporting nuclear energy would be a mistake because, as stated in Pandora’s Promise, being anti-nuclear means being in favor of harmful fossil fuels.  With this dramatic increase in energy usage and an increasingly unstable environment, nuclear energy appears to be the most reasonable option.