Hidden fallout from Germany's sudden nuclear shutdown

Hidden fallout from Germany's sudden nuclear shutdown

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/category/nuclear/

Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published in Germany's Die Welt. English versions of their articles, and others from top global media, are produced by Worldcrunch.com.

By Thomas Schmid
BERLIN – The biggest advantage of democracy is the possibility of getting rid of governments you don’t like in a peaceful way. That doesn’t sound like much. Yet it sums up all the wisdom and beauty at the core of a democratic system. In a democracy, you can say A, but you can also say B, just as you can rely on the assumption that nothing has to last forever. Everything can be changed, amended, courses reversed. In short, the very life and soul of democracy is that there are always other options.
Germany’s federal government is now abusing that basic rule in a scandalous way. There can be no doubt that the country needs to be looking at a smart mix of different energy sources for the future, and that developing viable alternatives to atomic power is an urgent necessity. Yet the manner in which the federal government has rushed to its decision to put a definitive stop to the use of nuclear energy by 2022 runs counter to all rules of democratic procedure. FULL POST

Post by: Thomas Schmid