My opposition to nuclear isn’t merely because it is dirty, deadly, and costly but also because it relies on a specific technology of power to implement, a specific technology of power that has always been highly authoritarian. As part of the green movement of my country, we also push for denuclearization precisely because the 300mW nuclear power plant was built without democratic oversight. (Imagine risking non-zero chance of meltdown for a measly 300 mW!) Democratic movements are more likely to oppose nuclear energy, so it’s no wonder countries who are poor in democracy like China, USA, Russia, and France build and maintain nuclear power plants despite the public opposition.

Not only that, but nuclear power fuels the valorization process under the capitalist mode of production. Even if the whole world shifts to nuclear energy, the same technology of power that constructed the nuclear power plants would also go about oppressing people.

Nuclear energy can only operate under a specifically authoritarian technology of power. A free society—whether that be anarchist, communist, or radically democratic—simply cannot use the violence needed to construct a nuclear power plant.

But you probably don’t care about that. For you, this technology of power is probably a desideratum as long as you get your damn iPhones and airconditioning.

Pro-nuke energy is getting more and more indefensible after each disaster. May I remind you that literally nobody knows how to deal with long term storage of nuclear waste. No, dumping them in bunkers is not a long-term solution and never was sustainable.

New developments in nuclear technology like with small modular reactors would produce more nuclear waste than conventional reactors. Not to mention that there isn’t enough uranium in the entire Earth for the whole world to shift to nuclear. It’s dangerous, expensive, and its waste is also dangerous and expensive.

That’s not the point. Only states can deploy nuclear energy. A city or province can’t do it. Only fossil fuels or renewables can guarantee local energy sovereignty. And since fossil fuels are bad, that leaves only renewables.

Obviously fossil fuels are worse asshole. It’s literally in the comment when I mentioned Germany.

Nuclear is bad. We need to invest in renewables. (Sidenote, phasing out nuclear for fossil energy like what Germany did is worse than nuclear.)

If you say “well we need more energy to grow,” then I say we should degrow until renewables are sufficient for our needs.