List of pro-nuclear environmentalists

Stewart Brand at a 2010 debate, "Does the world need nuclear energy?"^[1]

While nuclear power has historically been opposed by notable environmentalists, a minority have come to support it. An urgent necessity to mitigate the serious problem of anthropogenic global warming arising from the ubiquitous combustion of fossil fuels is generally cited, often coupled with confidence that the widespread fear of nuclear technology, especially modern designs, is disproportionately greater than its actual risks. Such individuals (aka "Nuclear Greens"^[2]) include:

Non-scientists

• Ansel Adams^[3] (photographer, former Sierra Club director; died 1984)
• Stewart Brand^[4][5] (writer, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog)
• Carol Browner^[6][7] (former EPA administrator and ECCP director)
• Gwyneth Cravens^[8][5] (journalist, author)
• Leslie Dewan^[9] (nuclear engineer)
• Chris Goodall^[10] (author)
• Ben Heard^[11] (environmental consultant)
• Margi Kindig^[12] (former board chair, Clean Wisconsin)
• Bjørn Lomborg^[13] (researcher, author)
• Mark Lynas^[14][15][5] (journalist, activist)
• George Monbiot^[16] (journalist)
• Hugh Montefiore^[17] (priest, former Friends of the Earth trustee; died 2005)
• Patrick Moore^[18] (a co-founder of Greenpeace, and former President of Greenpeace Canada)
• Ted Nordhaus^[19] (author, chairman of the Breakthrough Institute)
• Fred Pearce^[20] (journalist, author)
• Richard Rhodes^[21][5] (journalist, author)
• Jeffrey Sachs^[22] (economist, director of The Earth Institute)
• Michael Shellenberger^[19][5] (author, co-founder of the Breakthrough Institute)
• Robert Stone^[23] (director; his film Pandora's Promise^[5] features pro-nuclear environmentalists)
• Stephen Tindale^[24][25] (Chief Executive of Alvin Weinberg Foundation and former executive director Greenpeace UK)
• Bryony Worthington^[26] (environmental campaigner, UK House of Lords member)

Scientists

James Edward Hansen

Prof. Barry W. Brook

• James Lovelock^[27]
• David J. C. MacKay^[28][29] (also an author and former DECC chief scientific advisor; died 2016)

Open letter signatories

Climate and energy scientists^[30][31] in 2013:^[32][33] "there is no credible path to climate stabilization that does not include a substantial role for nuclear power"

• Ken Caldeira
• Kerry Emanuel
• James Hansen
• Tom Wigley

Conservation biologists^[34] in 2014:^[35][36] "to replace the burning of fossil fuels, if we are to have any chance of mitigating severe climate change […we] need to accept a substantial role for advanced nuclear power systems with complete fuel recycling"

• Barry Brook (co-author)
• Corey J. A. Bradshaw (co-author)
• Andrew Balmford
• Daniel T. Blumstein
• Scott Carroll
• F. Stuart Chapin III
• Richard Hobbs
• Ove Hoegh-Guldberg^[37]
• William F. Laurance
• Thomas Lovejoy
• Robert May (also a UK House of Lords member)
• Hugh Possingham
• Peter H. Raven
• Richard Shine
• Chris D. Thomas

See also

• Anti-nuclear movement, criticism of
• The Atomic Age – Wikipedia book
• Bright green environmentalism (aka Ecomodernism)
• Environmental impact of nuclear power
• Generation IV reactor (future design concepts)
• List of anti-nuclear advocates in the United States
• Nuclear engineers
• Nuclear organizations (Wikipedia category)
  • The Alvin Weinberg Foundation
  • Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy
    • Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy Australia
• Nuclear power debate
• Nuclear power in Australia#Advocates for nuclear power
• Nuclear renaissance

References

1. "Stewart Brand + Mark Z. Jacobson: Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy?". TED (published June 2010). February 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
2. Robert Bryce (Winter 2013). "Rise of the Nuclear Greens". City Journal. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
3. David Sheff (March 1983). "A candid conversation with America’s “photographer laureate” and environmentalist about art, natural beauty and the unnatural acts of Interior Secretary James Watt.". Playboy. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
4. "Nuclear power's time has come". CNN. 22 February 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
5. Pandora's Promise at the Internet Movie Database. Specifically credited are Brand, Cravens, Lynas, Rhodes, and Shellenberger.
6. Carol Browner (5 May 2014). "If You're Concerned About Climate Change, You Should Support Nuclear Power". Forbes. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
7. "To Carol Browner, Nuclear More Than Just Matters – It’s Essential". Breakthrough Institute. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
8. Cravens, Gwyneth (2007). Power to Save the World. New York: First Vintage Books.
9. "2015 Emerging Explorers » Leslie Dewan, Nuclear Engineer". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 14 June 2015. At the most fundamental level I'm an environmentalist. I'm doing this because I think nuclear power is the best way of producing large amounts of carbon-free electricity. I think the world needs nuclear power, alongside solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal, if we want to have any hope of reducing fossil fuel emissions and preventing global climate change.
10. Chris Goodall (23 February 2009). "The green movement must learn to love nuclear power". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
11. Babs McHugh (20 Jun 2014). "Environmentalist argues in favour of nuclear power". ABC Online. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
12. Margi Kindig (17 Feb 2016). "The promise of nuclear power". JSOnline. Retrieved 20 Feb 2016.
13. Keith Kloor (21 Oct 2013). "Bjørn Lomborg: The resilient environmentalist". Cosmos (magazine). Retrieved 3 February 2015.
14. "Nuclear power support from former sceptic Mark Lynas". BBC. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
15. Mark Lynas thinking the unthinkable on nuclear power on YouTube
16. George Monbiot (21 March 2011). "Why Fukushima made me stop worrying and love nuclear power". theguardian.com. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
17. Hugh Montefiore (22 October 2004). "We need nuclear power to save the planet from looming catastrophe". The Independent. Retrieved 15 October 2013. Note, an expanded version of the same essay was printed the next day: Hugh Montefiore (23 October 2004). "Why the planet needs nuclear energy". The Tablet. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
18. Patrick Moore (16 April 2006). "Going Nuclear". The Washington Post. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
19. "Breakthrough! Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger of the Breakthrough Institute Discuss "Climate McCarthyism" And Why They Now Support Nuclear Power". Energy Tribune. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
20. John Vidal (10 April 2012). "Vicious words mark the war between pro and anti-nuclear environmentalists". theguardian.com. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
21. Jogalekar, Ashutosh (July 23, 2013). "Richard Rhodes on the Need for Nuclear Power". Scientific American.
22. Fiona Harvey (3 May 2012). "Nuclear power is only solution to climate change, says Jeffrey Sachs". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
23. Kate Breimann (30 April 2013). "Environmentalists Go Pro-Nuclear in 'Pandora's Promise' Trailer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
24. Steve Connor (23 February 2009). "Nuclear power? Yes please...". The Independent. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
25. Former Greenpeace/UK Executive Director Stephen Tindale on nuclear power and renewable energy on YouTube
26. Bryony Worthington (4 July 2011). "Why thorium nuclear power shouldn't be written off". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
27. James Lovelock (24 May 2004). "Nuclear power is the only green solution". The Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
28. David MacKay (March 2012). A reality check on renewables. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
29. Mackay, David (2009). Sustainable Energy: Without the Hot Air. UIT Cambridge. ISBN 0-9544529-3-3.
30. Leigh Dayton (10 March 2010). "James Hansen keen on next-generation nuclear power". The Australian. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
31. James Hansen on nuclear power on YouTube
32. Thom Patterson (3 November 2013). "Climate change warriors: It's time to go nuclear". CNN. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
33. Ken Caldeira, Kerry Emanuel, James Hansen, and Tom Wigley (3 November 2013). "Top climate change scientists' letter to policy influencers". CNN. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
34. "Aussie scientists dominate global energy talks". ABC News (Australia). 7 June 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
35. Steve Connor (4 January 2015). "Nuclear power is the greenest option, say top scientists". The Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
36. Barry W. Brook and Corey J. A. Bradshaw (15 December 2014). "An Open Letter to Environmentalists on Nuclear Energy". Retrieved 12 January 2015.
    Note: As of the most recent access date, Brook and Bradshaw's letter had an additional 75 signatories; only those with biographical Wikipedia articles are displayed here however.
37. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg and Eric McFarland (30 June 2014). "Let’s go nuclear, for the reef’s sake". The Australian. Retrieved 11 November 2014.