Fukushima disaster puts nuclear energy on the defensive

No nukesPhoto: midorisyuNuclear power hasn’t had such a bad year since 1986, when Chernobyl charred a big chunk of the Ukraine. The messy meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March led Japan to cancel its plans for new reactors and start looking to cut its reliance on nuclear power. Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Taiwan, Mexico, and Belgium have started backing away from nuclear too; even France, the world’s most nuclear-reliant nation, has seen the issue flare up in its presidential campaign. Popular sentiment around the world appears to be trending against nukes — except in the U.S. and the U.K., that is. Anglos. Go figure.