List of anti-nuclear power groups
Encyclopedia
Anti-nuclear power groups have emerged in every country that has had a nuclear power programme. Protest movements against nuclear power first emerged in the USA, at the local level, and spread quickly to Europe and the rest of the world. National nuclear campaigns emerged in the late 1970s. Fuelled by the Three Mile Island accident
and the Chernobyl disaster
, the anti-nuclear power movement mobilised political and economic forces which for some years "made nuclear energy untenable in many countries".
Some of these anti-nuclear power organisations are reported to have developed considerable expertise on nuclear power
and energy issues. In 1992, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
said that "his agency had been pushed in the right direction on safety issues because of the pleas and protests of nuclear watchdog groups".
Three Mile Island accident
The Three Mile Island accident was a core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979....
and the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
, the anti-nuclear power movement mobilised political and economic forces which for some years "made nuclear energy untenable in many countries".
Some of these anti-nuclear power organisations are reported to have developed considerable expertise on nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and energy issues. In 1992, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
said that "his agency had been pushed in the right direction on safety issues because of the pleas and protests of nuclear watchdog groups".
International
- Friends of the Earth International, a network of environmental organizationEnvironmental organizationAn environmental organization is an organization that seeks to protect, analyze or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation or lobby for these goals....
s in 77 countries. - Greenpeace International, a non-governmentalNon-governmental organizationA non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
environmentalEnvironmentalismEnvironmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
organization with offices in 41 countries. - Nuclear Information and Resource ServiceNuclear Information and Resource ServiceThe Nuclear Information and Resource Service is an anti-nuclear group founded in 1978 to be the information and networking center for citizens and organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues...
- World Information Service on EnergyWorld Information Service on EnergyThe World Information Service on Energy is an anti-nuclear group founded in 1978 to be an information and networking center for citizens and organizations concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues...
Japan
- Citizens' Nuclear Information Center
- Green Action Japan
United Kingdom
- Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive EnvironmentCumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive EnvironmentCumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment is a non-political, non-profit organisation, located in Barrow-in-Furness, which since 1980 has campaigned against all aspects of the operation of Sellafield, formally Windscale and the site of the 1957 reactor fire...
- Friends of the Earth (EWNI)Friends of the Earth (EWNI)Friends of the Earth is one of 70 national groups around the world which make up the Friends of the Earth network of environmental organizations...
- Friends of the Earth ScotlandFriends of the Earth ScotlandFriends of the Earth Scotland is an independent member of the Friends of the Earth international network of environmental organizations, and operates separately from Friends of the Earth in England, Wales and Northern Ireland . There is no single Friends of the Earth .Since 2011, Stan Blackley has...
- Sustainable Development CommissionSustainable Development CommissionThe Sustainable Development Commission was a non-departmental public body responsible for advising the UK Government, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government, and Northern Ireland Executive on sustainable development....
United States
- Abalone AllianceAbalone allianceThe Abalone Alliance was a nonviolent civil disobedience group formed to shut down the Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Diablo Canyon Power Plant near San Luis Obispo on the central California coast in the United States...
- Clamshell AllianceClamshell AllianceThe Clamshell Alliance is an anti-nuclear organization co-founded by Paul Gunter, Howie Hawkins, Harvey Wasserman, Guy Chichester and other activists in 1976. The alliance's coalescence began in 1975 as New England activists and organizations began to respond to U.S...
- Institute for Energy and Environmental ResearchInstitute for Energy and Environmental ResearchThe Institute for Energy and Environmental Research focuses on the environmental safety of nuclear weapons production, ozone layer depletion, and other issues relating to energy. IEER publishes a variety of books on energy-related issues, conducts workshops for activists on nuclear issues, and...
- Musicians United for Safe EnergyMusicians United for Safe EnergyMusicians United for Safe Energy, or MUSE, is an activist group founded in 1979 by Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt, and John Hall. The group advocates against the use of nuclear energy, forming shortly after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in March 1979...
- Natural Resources Defense CouncilNatural Resources Defense CouncilThe Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
- No Nukes group
- Shad AllianceShad AllianceThe Shad Alliance was an active and influential anti-nuclear group which used non-violent, direct action methods in the late 1970s and 1980s. It grew out of the "alliance movement" started in New Hampshire by the Clamshell Alliance...