With the possibility of rolling blackouts looming for the summer, Governor Gavin Newsom said last week that he would consider delaying the 2025 shutdown of Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining nuclear power plant. As the world seeks to wean itself off of fossil fuels, some climate change activists have argued for a pivot to nuclear energy. But while nuclear energy technology has improved, concerns persist about nuclear power, the waste it generates and the possibility of disasters like Fukushima, Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. We’ll talk about the future of nuclear energy and whether it can be a viable way to combat climate change.
Should California Keep Generating Nuclear Power?
Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant left in California, due to be shutdown in 2024 despite safely producing nearly 15% of the state's green electrical energy power, is viewed in these aerial photos taken on December 1, 2021, near Avila Beach, California. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
Guests:
Sammy Roth, energy reporter, Los Angeles Times
Ethan Elkind, director of the Climate Program at the Center for Law, Energy and the Environment, UC Berkeley School of Law; host of the podcast, "Climate Break"
Jessica Lovering, co-founder and executive director, Good Energy Collective - a progressive nuclear policy research organization
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