While people are quick to dismiss nuclear energy as bad, Pandora’s Promise looks at how some leading environmentalists have converted to support its use. Many activists have become disillusioned with the traditional environmental approaches to climate change. They claim that the concerns are so dire, that non-carbon-producing nuclear is the best current solution to mitigate the effects of our years of fossil-fuel guzzling.
The film makes a surprisingly persuasive argument. Experts on the scientific side explain the ways that nuclear energy technology has advanced (new reactors recycle waste back into fuel) and examine what they say is misinformation (inflated radiation fears, that conservation and alternative energies could be enough). The reality is we will need more and more power, and we cannot continue to extract every last bit of oil, coal, and natural gas, then burn it and send it into the atmosphere. The film lays out the benefits of nuclear energy: It is clean, it doesn’t pollute the air, it doesn’t damage the ozone, and it produces large amounts of energy, which is inexpensive for consumers. One environmentalist says: “To be anti-nuclear is basically to be in favor of burning fossil fuels. I finally had to change my mind.”
Pandora's Promise opens today at the Harvard Exit.
