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Nukenomics - The Political Economy of the Nuclear Industry.
Year Published: 1980Resource Type: Book Cx Number: CX1060 Abstract: Bill Harding's second book on Nuclear Energy (see CX995) is an attempt to answer the question - Why nuclear power at all? The answer lies, according to Harding in the relationship of energy industry with political power and multinational corporations. Highlighting the history of the energy industry, and how energy policy is determined, the author draws particular attention to the power of the oil companies. The major oil companies in the U.S.A. now control more than oil. They are able to determine energy policy becuase they are virtually in contol of all energy sources. They are now developing solar energy, and are able to reap monopolistic profits because they control the nuclear energy industry through ownership of uranium. This state of affairs has come about without resistance from political powers. Nuclear power, despite its spiralling costs, and despite the fact that it provides very few jobs in relation to its capital expense, continues because of the vested interests of those who control it. "Why nuclear power at all?" Harding suggests that it is because of an attempt to harness what was initially a destructive energy, atom bombs, for peaceful use - an attempt that he says has ultimately failed. |