Nuclear energy fifty years after Hiroshima

Environmental restrictions are posing restraints on hydrocarbon fuel use. Barring widescale acceptance of limits to growth, or mass conversion to the ecology movement, it would seem that nuclear power is the only alternative energy supply today to achieve a measure of industrial capability. But whether the role of nuclear power can be disassociated from weapons in the next century's energy/environment complex remains to be seen. These issues are analyzed by IIPS Distinguished Research Fellow and Kyorin University Professor Ryukichi Imai, who has served as Japan's Ambassador to Kuwait, Mexico, and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He is the author of numerous books and articles on nuclear issues. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the July 1995 Pugwash Hiroshima Conference.