"Survey finds wide gulf in global opinion on nuclear power"

The Asahi Shimbun reports that a "Survey finds wide gulf in global opinion on nuclear power" in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, with the U.S. population showing the most favorable attitude toward the use of nuclear power, and the least concern about domestic nuclear accidents, of any of the other countries surveyed.

Swiss lower house of parliament votes to phase out nuclear power

In response to the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, Switzerland's National Council, the country's lower house of parliament, has voted 101 to 54 to phase out nuclear power, World Nuclear News reports. This follows a Swiss Cabinet decision to reverse course, and not replace old atomic reactors with new ones -- effectively phasing out nuclear power in Switzerland by 2034. The upper house of parliament, the 46 member Council of States, must still vote on the matter. If it approves the phase out policy, then Switzerland will join the likes of Germany, which plans to phase out its atomic reactors by 2022, as well as Italy, which has just reaffirmed, by popular referendum, it's moratorium on new atomic reactors. Austria also disavowed nuclear power in the aftermath of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe not far from its border with Ukraine.

Victory for the "si" vote against nuclear in Italy

"Following the decision the Italian people are taking at this moment, we must probably say goodbye to the possibility of nuclear power stations and we must strongly commit ourselves to renewable energy," said Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi after an overwhelming turnout and "yes" vote against nuclear Sunday and Monday looked certain to end nuclear plans in Italy.

Bravissimi! Italian oncologists support a "yes" vote to end nuclear in Italy

Italian oncologists unite to back the anti-nuclear referendum. From the ASCO congress in Chicago, the world's most important oncology summit, AIOM (Italian association of medical oncology) urges the people to vote 'yes' at the referendum to be held on 12 and 13 June. "Nuclear radiation is the most carcinogenic thing that exists - said AIOM president Carmelo Iacono - and it cannot be kept under control, as the Fukushima tragedy proved. Let's drop the nuclear plants project and let's start staking on alternative energy, which pollutes much less and which, unlike nuclear energy, does not pose a threat for health."

How will Germany transition to renewables without using coal and imported nuclear?

How will Germany exit nuclear without using more coal?

Within four decades, one of the world’s leading economies will be powered almost entirely by wind, solar, biomass, hydro, and geothermal power. But can Germany really achieve these targets without resorting to fossil fuels? Some of these questions were recently addressed in a joint article by Arne Jungjohann, Program Director for Environment and Global Dialogue with the Heinrich Böll Foundation and Wilson Rickerson, CEO of Meister Consultants Group. Some excerpts follow: 

“The old nuclear power plants had been a bottleneck for greater investment. With the planned phase out of all nuclear power capacity, investors are lining up to put more renewable energy and high-efficiency natural gas plants in place. Overall, CO2 emissions will not rise as the energy sector has to comply with the European Emissions Trading System (ETS) and the associated emissions cap.”

Germany already had an aggressive renewable energy program in place. For example, “Germany has installed 17,000 MW of PV to date which amounts to more than half of the world’s total, including over 7,400 MW of new PV capacity in 2010 alone. . .The previous target of 30% renewable electricity by 2020 has recently been updated by Germany’s official National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). The NREAP reveals that the country expects to actually generate 38% of its electricity from renewables by 2020.”

Germany also sees the transition to renewable energy as the most beneficial pathway economically. “As Germany’s Minister of Environment recently stated:

It is economically nonsensical to pursue two strategies at the same time, for both a centralized and a decentralized energy supply system, since both strategies would involve enormous investment requirements. I am convinced that the investment in renewable energies is the economically more promising project. . .

“Three cornerstones will play a crucial role in Germany’s energy transition: an even stronger growth of renewables; the ramp-up of smart grids, efficiency technologies, and battery and storage technologies; and temporary more flexible natural gas.” Read the full article for more information or visit the website of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.