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Power to Save the World: The Truth About Nuclear Energy

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Until I read Gwyneth Cravens' "Power to Save the World", I would have
described myself as an anti-nuke, pro-solar-and-windmills mom and
responsible inhabitant of this planet.
Now I, and all readers of her timely book, can benefit from Cravens'
friendship with Rip Anderson, of Sandia National Laboratories.
Ms. Cravens' writing style is as much a pleasure as it is
informative. In a personal tone, she invites the reader on her
journey and we can't help but recognize our own misconceptions and
outdated information about nuclear energy.
Cravens tracks the life cycle of uranium, tours nuclear facilities,
and asks important questions and presents them in what becomes a page
turner.
She explains in detail how efficient nuclear power is while she
dispels myths and clarifies science. While no industrial power source
is trouble-free, it's clear that carbon-free nuclear power is vastly
preferable to burning coal. I highly recommend this book to each
resident of planet earth.

I am quite sure that Gwyneth Cravens's highly readable book will be controversial. I can only hope that it will get the reading it deserves.

Before I read it, I was certain that I knew that nuclear energy was highly risky and a threat to all. I now understand that I actually knew very little. Despite every good intention, I had been pulled into a mindless groupthink about Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and by the very green movement I love. What I learned by reading Cravens, for example, is that as a species we evolved at a time of far greater radiation than now occurs and that one gets more radiation from eating a single banana, or crossing Grand Central Station once, than one gets living next door to a nuclear plant for a year. We are swimming in a sea of radiation, and always have been, but effectively none of it comes from the use of nuclear power plants constructed in the West. And interestingly, radiation turns out to be one of those things for which dosage is crucial. Radiation at certain low doses appears even to produce positive effects.

This book is a pleasure to read because it brims not with opinions, hyperbole or hysteria, but refreshingly, with scientific facts. There are no conspiracy theories and no bad guys (except maybe for coal producers). New, fresh, interesting information appears on every page. As Cravens points out, at one time not that long ago, people feared the dangers of bringing electricity into their homes. And they weren't completely wrong. Dangers accompany electricity, fire and other powerful yet beneficial forms of energy. The key to benefitting from them lies in overcoming fear and learning how to use the proper precautions with each.

I suppose that much of my own negative reaction to all things nuclear stems from my complete antipathy to nuclear weaponry. What is clear, however, is that if we want to provide electrical energy on the massive scale we consume, we already have the technology to do it cleanly. It turns out that to produce the kind of base load energy we need to have 24/7/365, we really have two choices: coal, on which we primarily rely, and nuclear energy. Cravens makes the irrefutable case that coal is by far the more dangerous, more polluting, more greenhouse-gas-producing choice. And its use is nearly unregulated.

Nuclear energy is THE green alternative for producing the quantities of electrical power we need now. No other current alternative produces abundant energy at low cost while producing NO greenhouse gases. The future we must move to if we want to save the planet, is available now. We can act to save the world if we overcome prejudice and fear.

Thank you, Gwyneth Cravens for producing such a timely, reasonable and well documented book!

You'll be surprised what you can learn from this wonderful book. The fact that prize-winning nuclear chronicler Richard Rhodes, well-known as a stickler for historical accuracy, has endorsed it and written the Introduction, tells us we're on solid ground here. Although he is an authority on the nuclear enterprise, Rhodes says he leaned "something new on every page." The environmentalist, Stewart Brand, calls it simply, "The best introduction to the current realities and benefits of nuclear power." And popular story teller Tony Hillerman says, "I'd like to see this on every bookshelf in America and on student reading lists."

So, what makes it so special? First of all, the author herself. Her background makes clear that she is no shill for the nuclear industry. In fact, she was quite an aggressive anti-nuclear activist for many years. So she has a personal, battlefront familiarity with the questions and concerns that bother many people about the technology. Second, she is a highly skilled writer, author of five well-received novels, praised by her fellow writers, winner of many writing awards and fellowships, and Visiting Writer in the Graduate Program in Writing at UC Irvine. As a fiction editor at The New Yorker Magazine (1980-87) under the legendary William Shawn, she worked with such noted writers as Milan Kundera and Susan Sontag.

But, most important for this book, is that in addition to having a novelist's easy, graceful writing style, she brings many years' experience as a reporter for some of the world's top publications: The New Yorker, The New York Times (magazine, book review and Op-Ed page), The Washington Post, The Nation, Harpers, The Village Voice and others.

Power to Save the World is her first non-fiction book-length opus. The unique way she carried out the eight-year chore of creating it makes it particularly easy to follow, both for nuclear specialists and for those wholly new to the subject (as she was). She used to make off-hand anti-nuclear comments to her friend, Dr. D. Richard ("Rip") Anderson, chemist, oceanographer, and environmental health and nuclear safety analyst, now retired from Sandia National Laboratories. Rip would patiently explain in each case that her concern was based on misinformation. It finally reached the point where he said, "Would you really like to get the facts on this subject?" and she realized that she would. So they started "at the beginning," visiting and learning about uranium mines, milling, and fuel fabrication, and step by step, branching off from time to time to cover it all, finally ending with waste handling and storage. This is certainly the best way for a newcomer to develop an understanding of the subject. The reader learns as the author learned. As each concern is explored and dealt with, the reader comes up with the next question: "Yes, but what about...?" And that is the very moment that the author has already asked the question, and we are listening to the answer as she did. This gives readers who are new to the subject a basis for keeping the overall context continually in view and having a feeling as to where they are at any moment.

Nuclear technology is a large, complex enterprise. Its various parts were severely compartmentalized during the War. As a result, very few of us, even the earliest pioneers, are informed as to all the parts. Thus, Cravens' approach, so appropriate for newbies, is also an excellent process for even the most knowledgeable. Although the language is intelligible to lay persons, it is scientifically accurate. Yet at no time does any reader feel condescended to. This is a major accomplishment, and Cravens' great gift to us all.

In his Introduction to the book, Richard Rhodes refers to Cravens' text as a Pilgrimage, in the tradition of John Bunyan's seventeenth century classic, Pilgrim's Progress. And that is appropriate. But I am more impressed with the fact that she applied to the task her well-honed skills as investigative reporter. In a constant swirl of rumors, she was determined to learn first-hand what the real facts were. And when she gets a firm grasp on the facts, and a lucid description of them on the page, there is really no room for the unsupported rumor to survive. Without being dogmatic or simplistic, she shows over and over again that many of the "controversial issues" our field is plagued with are not complicated or controversial at all, once the facts are made clear and the fears dispersed.

She exposes the sham that supports the notion that low-dose radiation can be harmful. That, in turn, eliminates the possibility of thousands of deaths resulting from a core meltdown. She throws factual light on other supposed nuclear hazards. As each new fear is examined in light of what is physically possible, the dreaded what ifs are shown to be classical bogey men, spooks composed of nothing but fear itself. She shows that nuclear energy is not a Faustian bargain too powerful and mysterious to trust to human hands. Instead, it is providential gift to humankind, born out of our growing understanding of the laws that govern all technology. A gift given just as all other gifts are proving inadequate for our future needs.

We can all learn from this book about how controversial and scary subjects can be explained, simply and clearly. You have to wonder why it took us so long to find this out. But you don't have to wonder what to get your friends and colleagues (and adversaries) for Christmas this year. Ms. Cravens has given us the answer to that question too, and just in time.

There is no more urgent environmental or geopolitical issue in the world today than clean energy production. While energy sources like wind and solar are appealing, they generate only a small percentage of the power needed to replace CO2 emitting energy sources. Enter (or re-enter) nuclear. France, e.g., a country with few natural energy resources (a condition all countries will be in, sooner or later), adopted an energy policy based on nuclear power in the early seventies; today, nuclear power generates 75% of their electricity, and has turned them into a energy exporter. Many Americans, though, myself included, have had the same reservations about nuclear power as the author says she held before she started her book: skepticism of nuclear plant safety, worry about nuclear waste and about the possibility of terrorist attacks.

Cravens makes a very convincing case that these worries are not well founded. The many facts she presents are the result of her careful sifting - over a period of eight years - of the evidence on both sides, as she addresses her original doubts one by one. It is a bonus that the book is so well written, and has literary value in the way it shows a firmly-held opinion slowly changing to its opposite as the facts are confronted. But it is the urgency of the message that really matters, and that is what the book delivers: a passionate, extremely well-researched wakeup call. The more people on both sides of the nuclear debate read this book and assimilate its implications, the better.

All of one's electricity for a lifetime generated from nuclear power would create 2 lbs. of waste, vs. 68.5 tons if generated from coal. Making electricity generates 40% of the world's CO2, and usage is expected to double by 2030.

The book's major value is in credibly dissecting the multiple hysteria associated with nuclear power. Those resisting nuclear energy and the hope it offers vs. global warming should look at its track record. Our nuclear navy has used reactors over 50 years without harmful radioactivity release, and there have been no deaths attributable to nuclear power in the U.S. in over 40 years. Chernobyl failed because of poor design (no containment building) and poor management (safety systems were disconnected during a test).

Alternative non-carbon power sources have limited potential. A 1,000 MW nuclear plants takes .3 square miles, an equivalent wind farm requires 200, while a solar array 50.

Finally, Cravens points out that existing power sources are far from totally safety. Coal-fired plants create 24,000 premature American deaths/year, while those in China create 400,000 Chinese deaths. Failed dam structures have led to 1,000 American deaths in the last century.

In a world threatened by global warming, we need correct information to be able to make the best decisions to provide for our needs and protect the environment. Ms. Cravens makes a journey of discovery into the world of nuclear energy that she generously shares with us. Starting with the usual prejudices about nuclear power, she meets Dr. Rip Anderson and begins to learn the realities about that nearly-carbon-free source of electricity. It's an inspiration to travel with her and share the experience of setting aside ignorant opinion to arrive at a seasoned, informed judgement on the merits of nuclear power. As an example, her description of the heavy security at nuclear power plants should help dispel the myths about terrorists being able to take over the control room. Likewise, her contrasting portraits of clean nuclear power plants and coal-fired electrical generators make it clear where the real dangers are. Finally, her open discussion of the Chernobyl accident and Three Mile Island put matters in perspective. The two accidents are not really comparable, of course, Communist central planning produced an unsafe reactor built without a containment structure that killed about sixty people and scared tens of millions. The core meltdown at TMI, by contrast, killed no one because the reactor was designed for safety.

The issue of nuclear waste is often hauled out as a trump card by ignorant "greens" determined to frighten the public. Ms. Cravens' tour of the Waste Isolation Pilot Project in New Mexico demonstrates that a practical and safe solution already exists. Where are the self-anointed "activists" when there are real problems, like disposing of millions of tons of heavy-metal contaminated fly ash from coal plants? Our environment won't be protected by hand-wavers with Rube Goldberg visions of windmills and solar cells backed up by giant lead batteries, but we can do a lot of good by adopting the proven benefits of safe nuclear power on a bigger scale.

I recommend Ms. Cravens' timely book to anyone who has an open mind and a concern about addressing environmental problems in the real world. With her descriptive powers and gentle wit, she makes the journey of discovery interesting and pleasurable, to boot.

It's thorough and thought provoking -- enough to motivate me to look up parallel information as I read through the book.

I really like how the author balances risk and benefit throughout, and gets her readers to think in those terms. There seemed to be little glossing over hard facts. Overall, the book takes away my concerns about the risks of nuclear, especially as compared to other sources - like the filthy coal industry. I love the idea of solar, but her perspective on the toxic manufacturing and disposal process for solar cells helps answers questions I've long wondered about. She isn't against other forms of energy generation - just puts them in perspective. Nothing is free, easy, or perfect.

It was amazing to learn about the incredible advances in reactor technology and how it can be done with a tiny fraction of the waste now generated.

Her dissection of the disposal issue takes away the scare factor.

The book informs a highly emotional discussion in a rational, reasonable way and demolishes a lot of mythology. There are parts I had to re-read to digest, but it's written about as easy to understand as it could be to cover the subject with the depth it does for a layperson.

Anyone who is interested in the future of our world should read this book. It is filled with useful comparisons of the impacts to the environment made by different types of energy sources. It follows many of these sources from cradle to grave. It is eye-opening to learn about how much difference their is in toxic waste, environmental impact and human safety associated with each type of energy source.

If Mr. Nash had actually read Ms. Cravens book, he would have learned the answers to his accusations against nuclear power. Unfortunately, much of America's knowledge about nuclear energy comes from sound bites like his that are actually hype that is not founded on solid, scientific research. It is only rhetoric used to inflame people, and get them to reject nuclear power without actually learning about it.

If you want to learn the truth about energy, this book is an easy to understand, superbly researched, educational jem for anybody who wants to have a well-rounded overview. If you are truly interested in creating a cleaner, more sustainable world, I would strongly recommend that you read this book.

Tanya

"Power to Save the World: the Truth about Nuclear Energy," by Gwyneth Cravens, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2007. For those who would like to know more about nuclear energy, this 439 page hardback is an excellent introduction to the subject. Written by a novelist, it is not overly technical. But it does a good job of covering most aspects of nuclear energy. The book is decidedly pro-nuclear. It includes detailed notes, a glossary of technical terms, and is thoroughly indexed.

You will not find much new thinking here on the subject, but you will find a reasonable overview of the important topics. It covers the topic quite well.

Ms. Cravens has written a very good book discussing the complete nuclear power cycle from a lay person's perspective. Her discussions concerning power baseloading and comparing nuclear sources to coal sources for powering the national power grid are narratives that are rarely, if ever, discussed outside of the power industry due to the emotional issues that nuclear power brings forth in people.

As a non-technical author and former protester against nuclear power, Ms. Cravens tackles the subject material of nuclear power, the security issues, health issues and comparisons to other major power sources with a thoroughness not usually seen at this level. Her approach to "tag along" with noted retired DOE scientist, Rip Anderson and his openness and patience towards teaching a non-technically trained person the ins and outs of the nuclear power cycle add to the narrative. The unique approach she takes to treat her investigation of nuclear power as a personal journey leads to Ms. Cravens' ultimate understanding that nuclear power must be one of the power sources we rely on for our power needs as we go into the 21st century.

The book provides an excellent overview partly due to the length of time it takes for Ms. Craven's accounts of her travels and interviews to be written. Ms. Cravens does not try to write this book in 3 or 6 months just to ride the coattails of the latest nuclear headlines. Instead she took the time she needed to fully understand nuclear power, other sources of electrical power and the subject of baseloading before finalizing her book. The time was well spent as she is able to competently write about the use of nuclear power in today's world of shrinking inventory of carbon based fuels, greenhouse effects and increasing international tensions.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is truly interested in the discussion and future of nuclear power. It does not answer every technical question but that was never the goal of the book. What Ms. Cravens' book does is address the necessary critical technical and nontechnical questions about the nuclear power cycle and the power needs of the United States from a layperson's level. This book should be used as reference material for any critical discussions or debates concerning the pros and cons of nuclear power.