University of Toronto Press Nuclear Portraits: Communities, the Environment, and Public Policy

Product Description In the twenty-first century, nuclear energy has become a hotly contested issue. In the face of climate change, and the search for alternative forms of energy, nuclear power continues to affect the lives of communities around the world. In Nuclear Portraits, scholars from Europe, North America, and Asia demonstrate the complexity, controversy, contradictions, and dangers that surround many aspects of the nuclear industry. The resulting local, regional, national, and international concerns that arise, such as the disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, call into question the optimism espoused by the nuclear industry. We live in a world with more nuclear nations than ever before and energy policy is central to the mounting global concern about climate change. The innovative essays found in Nuclear Portraits will open your eyes to the realities of nuclear energy, thereby allowing you to decide for yourself whose side you are on. Review "This is a much-need contribution to nuclear history, one that goes beyond technical, economic, and security related assessments of nuclear energy." - Sonja D. Schmid, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Environmental History 24, Jan 2019 "Nuclear Portraits is an engaging addition to the dialogue on the increasingly complex impact of nuclear affairs, dominated by the relationship between risk and perception. In an age of "fake news" and "alternative facts," such clarion calls are valuable and necessary." - Jason S. Ridler - The Canadian Historical Review Vol 99:2: June 2018 About the Author Laurel Sefton MacDowell is professor emerita in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. Her prior work on environmental history has been recognized by the Ontario Historical Society and the Canadian Historical Association.