The Unkept Promise of Nuclear Power

By

Daniel Pope

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A map highlighting the towns northwest of Fukushima Daiichi that were evacuated.

Evacuated Towns

A map highlighting the towns northwest of Fukushima Daiichi that were evacuated because of the 2011 nuclear power plant disaster.

Electricity sources in the United States by type, 2014.

United States Electricity

Electricity sources in the United States by type, 2014.

A map showing cesium-137 contamination in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

Contamination from Chernobyl

A map showing cesium-137 contamination in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine as of 1996.

This bar graph shows global public support for energy sources.

Global Public Support for Energy Sources

This bar graph shows global public support for energy sources, based on a survey which included over twenty countries.

Map showing the share of electricity production from nuclear.

Nuclear Power in the World

Map showing the share of electricity production from nuclear, 2015.

Map of the nuclear power plants in Germany shut down by the Atom-Moratorium of 2011.

German Nuclear Power Plants

Map of the nuclear power plants in Germany shut down by the Atom-Moratorium of 2011, which was issued in reaction to the Fukushima disaster. Shut-down reactors are in red, operating reactors in blue.

The Generation IV roadmap showing the evolution of nuclear power and where its future lies.

Generation IV Roadmap

The Generation IV roadmap produced by Argonne National Laboratory showing the evolution of nuclear power and where its future lies.

A chart illustrating the history of energy consumption in the United States between 1776 and 2016.

Energy Consumption in the U.S.

A chart illustrating the history of energy consumption, in quads (quadrillion Btu), in the United States between 1776 and 2016.

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Cite this Site

Daniel Pope , "The Unkept Promise of Nuclear Power" , Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

March, 2021

https://origins.osu.edu/index.php/article/unkept-promise-nuclear-power.