‘We’ve got an energy crisis looming. And we need to tell people if we don’t invest now, the lights are going to go out.’ The Atom: A Love Affair, Cameron, Netflix 2020
‘Under my presidency, we’ll accomplish a complete American energy independence. Complete. Complete.’ ibid. Trump
The atom, a thing of wonder, the building block of the universe. But with the power to destroy it too. A byword for war, the atom knew it could be so much more: a miracle technology that would revolutionise medicine, industry, agriculture, transport, and most of all, energy. If only we would let it. ibid.
In the annals of love, it’s an affair like no other. ibid.
‘The British set up the first civil nuclear plant at Calder Hall in the UK.’ ibid. scientist
Germany: The peaceful teach-ins soon gave way to far uglier scenes. ibid.
March 1979: Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, an accident at a nuclear power plant. ibid. TV news
A partial meltdown less than 100 miles from a major city. ibid.
Windscale/Sellafield: ‘BNFL was accused of having radioactivity along the shoreline.’ ibid. scientist critic
Chernobyl: ‘12,500 square kilometres … uninhabitable. ibid.
A plume of radioactive fallout drifted west over Europe. ibid.