The recent shutdown of a Browns Ferry reactor because of high Tennessee River
temperatures was international news.
In the mainstream press from Britain to Germany to Malaysia, on National Public
Radio, and in anti-nuclear blogs worldwide, people who could not find Alabama on
a map became experts on Browns Ferry.
The interest stems from a raging environmental debate that deemed last week's
shutdown of Unit 2, and the power reductions in Units 1 and 3, as relevant to
the viability of nuclear power.
Nuclear power has created a schism among environmentalists.
On the one hand, the world has yet to find a satisfactory solution for disposing
of nuclear waste, and the risk of a catastrophic failure is alarming.
On the other hand, an operating nuclear plant creates essentially none of the
greenhouse gases that most experts believe are contributing to climate change.
The shutdown dropped Browns ...