This article gives a number of good economic and environmental reasons why nuclear power should be rejected, and alternative sources of energy developed.  
But it does not mention a very important security reason: that nuclear power reactors can turn into targets in future wars. An attack on them by terrorists or some other enemy, can pollute large areas of land for generations to come, making it uninhabitable and useless for growing crops. With the large dislocation of people from the contaminated area, there would also be many immediate and longer term casualties from nuclear radiation.
So there would be no point in providing potential targets to possible future enemies, when alternative sources of energy would be cheaper and safer.

According to projections by the International Energy Agency and a handful of energy industry experts, 2005 was the first year nuclear power's electricity output dropped behind that of small-scale plants producing low or no carbon dioxide emissions - and that's not counting large hydroelectric projects on the low-carbon side of the balance sheet.
Adam Twine doesn't look like the kind of person the nuclear industry should be scared of. An organic farmer, Twine is skinny, with big round glasses and unruly hair that makes his head look like it's fraying at the edges. How could he possibly be a threat to a multibillion-dollar industry?

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Nuclear Power for NZ Is A Dangerous Nonsense

Comment by Larry Ross, May 8, 2005

Some facts on the BBC TV program screened May 1 2005, heard by Anna Allan were about the effects of nuclear pollution from the Chernobyl disaster.

Volunteers are bringing children out of the area for a 4 week holiday and they estimate that being away from the contamination for 4 weeks will extend their life expectancy 2 years.
These children were about 10 or 11 years old and had the bones of a 50-60 year old with curvature of the spine and osteoporosis.

These points bring home to people who may believe that nuclear energy is safe, that once released by accident or terrorist attack it is unsafe for the indefinite future.

Also the radiation from an exploded or bombed reactor would kill many people immediately from high doses of radioactivity, and many more killed and maimed over the years, from the effects of lower doses of radiation - like the Russian children. It is evil and incredibly irresponsible to gamble with the lives of future generations because of some imagined benefit.

A little research would indicate that the supposed cost benefits, do not take into account the costs of many factors associated with nuclear reactors. That makes nuclear power much more expensive than first calculated. Such things as decommissioning the nuclear power plant at the end of its service, and storing nuclear waste for the indefinite future. There is no way to dispose of it. The provision of nuclear waste containers, storage facilities and personnel for long into the future would add to the costs. Pro-nuclear power advocates usually don't mention or calculate these and other costs.

In addition, a nuclear power plant is a ready made bomb for any enemy nation to attack or attack by some fanatic or terrorist action. Looking ahead a few decades or longer, it would be most unwise to provide some future enemy with optional NZ nuclear targets in the form of nuclear power reactors.

Competent NZ defence planners would advise against providing future potential enemies with ready-made
nuclear targets in New Zealand.

Another item heard is that George Bush is now abandoning the quest for foreign oil and asking people to use less.
How many hundreds of thousands of lives and dollars have been wasted, and how much expert advice has he ignored, before he came to this "revolutionary thought"?

Larry Ross

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Thanks for this comment Larry.

You would think that people so well informed by such excellent programs would be able to join the dots and see what might happen to their world. But the golden tongues have been voted in again. The danger gets greater as the minutes tick by especially now the power of instigating pre-emptive strikes on any suspect "enemy" is proposed to be given to trigger happy officials anywhere in the U.S. employ.

BBC, Sunday 24 June 2001
Chernobyl children to have Devon holiday

Fund-raising and volunteer work for a holiday for Chernobyl children and more pictures

It is a pity that there is so much need for so many ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. Modern technology was supposed to make our lives easier but the reverse is happening. Just take a look at all the web sites that people are manning with the sole purpose of enlightening people of the impending dangers of the exploitation of the gullible.

Anna Allan