Sparring Over Nukes

Energy guru Amory Lovins and Nobel-winning physicist Burton Richter squared off over the role nuclear power should or shouldn't play in the fight against global warming. Lovins, who preaches the gospel of efficiency and renewable alternatives, said nuclear was a dying beast, economically uncompetitive and dangerous. Richter questioned Lovins's projections for the viability of solar and wind to meet growing demands, and cited a lack of storage as a major weakness. The back-and-forth is related here.

In a related story, more he-says/she-says, this time about Chernobyl. Depending on who you listen to, the no-man's land around the Ukranian reactor site has either become a wildlife haven, blessed by the absence of man, or a nuclear nightmare, where mutations run amok.

As a postscript, reporters are often blamed for bad headlines, but they rarely if ever write them. And it's interesting to see how headlines differ on newswire stories from outlet to outlet. In this case, Yahoo! News went with the one-sided "Chernobyl area becomes wildlife haven," which makes you wonder whether the editor read past the lede. The Philadelphia Inquirer ran it under "Wildlife returning to Chernobyl," but with the necessary subhead: "The big question: Are the animals healthy?"