The Power of Nuclear: The Rise, Fall and Return of Our Mightiest Energy Source

The specters of atomic bombs dropping and nuclear power plants melting down have loomed over the public consciousness for nearly a century, but award-winning environmental journalist Visscher (founder of the climate activism network RePlanet) argues that these events shouldn’t stop us from using nuclear power today. His book guides readers through the history of nuclear power to show how society has come to distrust atomic energy. For example, the devastation of the United States’ atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant fueled, perhaps logically, people’s fears about nuclear energy. Visscher, however, presents the evidence-based argument that nuclear power is a relatively safe, reliable form of energy and shares how he was converted from anti-nuclear advocate to proponent of nuclear power. With research and data, his book addresses the top concerns about nuclear power as an energy source, such as accidents leading to radiation exposure and long-term health issues, nuclear waste storage considerations, and the threat of mass destruction. Visscher argues that politics, the media, and popular culture shouldn’t keep shaping the public’s perception of this seemingly alchemical power source as a dangerous threat to health and the environment.