In the documentary, “Pandoras Promise” expresses to the viewer how the public lives in fear of using the dangerous amounts of powers that lye in the process of harnessing nuclear energy. Scientists that are pro nuclear energy fight for the process due to the little to no polution that it gives off, and the greater amounts of power that we can harness in comparison to the amount given off by fossil fuels. In that aspect, nuclear energy seems like the obvious choice to power the earth. However, when there is the slightest imperfection to the process, the surrounding environment and the people around it are punished by the magnitude of horror that comes to follow.
Putting their careers on the line, the scientists in the film put their jobs on the line to truly figure out whether or not nuclear energy is simply an energy we must live in fear of due to the failures we have witnessed; or if this is truly the technology that could save our planet. Stone (director of the film) tells the personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process. Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavy weights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger.
In the movie you are truly able to tell that the scientists do understand the benefits of using nuclear energy. Although nuclear energy is the better option when looking at how it does not negatively effect our climate and amount of energy is produces in comparison to fossil fuels; it has a powerful backlash on the environment when the process isn’t completed precisely. For instance the movie at one point focusses in on the worst nuclear disaster recorded in the world; which took place in the city of Chernobyl. This is considered the worst of all nuclear disasters due to the cost and the amount of casualties in effect of what happened. In 1986 the power plant in the Ukraine caught fire and exploded; in result of the disaster, there were large quantities of nuclear radiation spread all over the country from miles away.
Kenneth Benedict from the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists states, “Nuclear power may indeed end up being part of the energy mix that leads to both a more stable climate and adequate livelihoods around the world. But the challenges posed by nuclear power like the risk of weapons proliferation and reactor accidents, and the need to securely store radioactive used fuel for many generations are not adequately addressed in the film.”(Wikipedia).
After watching the film I truly gained a new perspective on the use of nuclear energy. Previous to watching the film I was one hundred percent on board with hopping right into using nuclear energy. It advertises itself very well to the public eye. But once looking into the individual cases and seeing the powerful damage that it can do to both the earth and humans when miss used made me take a step back. I wouldn’t say that I am now apposed to using nuclear energy. I still believe that it is a great alternative that we will end up using in the future to prevent climate change and to make the earth a greener more echo friendly place. But before we move into using nuclear power more frequently, I believe that we should learn more about it and how to properly dispose of the nuclear waste post use, learn how to transport the energy into to the plants at a cheaper and more safe way, and to become more cautious with using such a powerful energy source. This technology is definitely the future for the human race. At the moment however, I believe that we are not ready to take the load off of fossil fuels and call nuclear energy our new primary source of energy.
I truly enjoyed the way director Stone put this movie together. He truly makes the viewer feel both the positives of nuclear energy, but also the cost of using energy when used improperly. To conclude this post I want to make it clear that I don’t believe that Stones goal with the film was to scare viewers away from standing with nuclear energy. The point of the film was to build awareness to those who back nuclear energy, but sincerely don’t understand the consiquences of the energy when misused. We are not ready at the moment to start mass producing this energy. But in time we will be ready and nuclear energy will make great change to the way we power our earth.