Germany To Give Up Nuclear Power for Coal

Plans to Spend Global Warming Money on Conversion from Nuclear to Coal

The plan was approved in the Bundesrat upper house, which represents Germany’s 16 regional states. The scheme had previously passed the Bundestag lower house with an overwhelming majority vote.

Germany had already taken action in the wake of the Japanese disaster by switching off their seven oldest reactors, and another reactor has been shut down for years due to technical problems. Now Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced plans to officially phase out the remaining nine reactors between 2015 and 2022. The decision, which has come faster than anyone predicted, is sure to find support in Germany where a large number of citizens oppose nuclear power due to the potentials risk involved. Thousands of anti-nuclear demonstrators marched in the streets after Fukushima demanding that the country switch to other sources of power.

This is so stupid on so many levels. If you're really concerned with anthropogenic global warming, you simply don't replace nuclear plants with coal-fired plants. I'm not even particularly worried about global warming, but I'd much rather live close to a nuke than a coal burner.  I had that choice and a made it.

Moreover, even with Fukushima, nuclear power is a far safer than coal-burning.  There have been no deaths from the Fukushima disaster.  It's a mess, but it's not a lethal mess.