Anti-nuclear movement

The anti-nuclear movement is a group of people who work together to stop the use of nuclear technology. This includes both nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. Many different groups have joined this movement, such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and others. They believe that nuclear technology can be very dangerous and have worked hard to stop its use.

People have worried about nuclear weapons since before 1945, when two cities were bombed using these weapons. After many tests of nuclear weapons, people began to protest, leading to treaties that limited testing. In the 1970s, people also started to protest against nuclear power plants. Big protests happened in many countries, with many people showing they did not want nuclear power.

After a serious nuclear accident in 1986, many people thought nuclear power was too risky. But in recent years, as concerns about climate change grew, some countries started to think again about nuclear power. However, accidents like the one in 2011 brought back fears, and many countries are still working to stop or reduce the use of nuclear power.

History and issues

The use of nuclear technology for energy and war has always caused big debates. People have argued about nuclear weapons since before 1945, when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. After nuclear tests in the Pacific in the 1950s, many people became worried. In 1961, during a time of tension between countries, about 50,000 women marched in the United States to protest against nuclear weapons. In 1963, many countries agreed to a treaty stopping tests in the atmosphere.

In the 1970s, people started protesting against nuclear power plants. One big protest happened in Germany over a plant called Wyhl, and it was stopped. This led to more protests in Europe and North America. Nuclear power became a major issue that many people talked about.

Anti-nuclear groups worry about several things. They fear that nuclear weapons could cause big problems. They also worry about nuclear power plants, like accidents and radioactive waste. Some people think nuclear power is too risky and expensive, and they prefer using energy from the sun, wind, and water instead. These groups believe we can save energy and use cleaner sources to meet our needs.

Anti-nuclear organizations

See also: List of anti-nuclear groups, List of anti-nuclear power groups, and List of anti-nuclear groups in the United States

The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that works in many places. Different groups support this movement:

• direct action groups, like the Clamshell Alliance and Shad Alliance
• environmental groups, such as Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace
• consumer protection groups, like Ralph Nader's Critical Mass
• professional organisations, such as International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
• political parties such as European Free Alliance

These groups have held peaceful protests at nuclear plant sites. They have also talked to leaders, signed petitions, and joined elections. They have helped change rules and taken part in important decisions.

Anti-nuclear groups exist in every country that uses nuclear power. These groups started in the United States and then spread around the world. Big events helped more people join the movement. In the 1970s and 1980s, many new green parties formed because of concerns about nuclear power.

International organizations

• European Nuclear Disarmament, which held big meetings in the 1980s with people from many countries
• Friends of the Earth International, a network of environmental organizations in many countries
• Global Zero, a group of leaders working to end nuclear weapons
• Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a partnership of many nations
• Greenpeace International, an environmental group with offices in over 41 countries
• International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
• International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
• International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won important peace awards
• Nuclear Information and Resource Service
• OPANAL
• Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, a group of leaders from many countries
• Pax Christi International, a Catholic group that strongly opposes nuclear weapons
• Ploughshares Fund
• Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
• Socialist International, a group of political parties around the world
• Sōka Gakkai, a Buddhist group that held exhibitions and gathered signatures for ending nuclear weapons
• United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
• World Disarmament Campaign
• World Information Service on Energy, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• World Union for Protection of Life

Other groups

National and local anti-nuclear groups are listed at Anti-nuclear groups in the United States and List of anti-nuclear groups.

Symbols

Activities

Large protests

In 1971, the town of Wyhl in Southern Germany was chosen to be the site of a new nuclear power plant. People in the area spoke out against the plan, and big protests happened. TV showed police taking away farmers and their families, which helped make nuclear power a big topic of discussion. In 1975, a court decided the plant could not be built. The Wyhl story helped start more local groups to speak up about nuclear plans.

In 1972, people in the Pacific Ocean spoke out against French nuclear testing. In New Zealand, people sailed boats close to the test area to stop the tests. In Australia, many people joined marches in cities like Adelaide, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. Scientists also said the tests should stop. In Fiji, people started a group against testing on Mururoa Island.

In the Basque Country (Spain and France), people spoke out against nuclear power starting in 1973. This led to most planned nuclear projects being stopped. On July 14, 1977, in Bilbao, a lot of people protested against the Lemoniz Nuclear Power Plant. It was called the biggest anti-nuclear protest ever.

In France, big protests happened at almost every planned nuclear site in the early 1970s. Between 1975 and 1977, many people joined ten different protests. In 1977, a huge protest happened at the Superphénix reactor in Creys-Malville.

In West Germany, between February 1975 and April 1979, many people joined seven protests at nuclear sites. Some people even tried to stay at the sites to stop work. After the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, many people joined a protest in Bonn.

In the Philippines, people protested in the late 1970s and 1980s against the planned Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, which was built but never used because of safety worries.

In 1981, Germany had its biggest anti-nuclear protest against building the Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant near Hamburg. Many people faced off against police officers.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, worries about nuclear weapons grew again. Older groups like the Federation of Atomic Scientists started up again, and new groups formed, like the Nuclear Weapons Freeze Campaign and Physicians for Social Responsibility. In the UK, on April 1, 1983, many people made a big human chain between three places with nuclear weapons in Berkshire.

On April 1982, many Australians joined anti-nuclear events in big cities. Each year, more people joined, and in 1985, many people took part. On October 29, 1983, many people joined a protest in The Hague, Netherlands, making it the biggest protest in Dutch history.

In May 1986, after the Chernobyl disaster, protests happened in West Germany. In Rome, many people marched, and in Milan, many marched. In 1986, hundreds of people walked from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., for nine months to speak out against nuclear weapons.

In 1989, a group called “Nevada Semipalatinsk” started in the former Soviet Union. They spoke out against a nuclear test site in northeast Kazakhstan, and their work helped close it in 1991.

In September 1992, the World Uranium Hearing happened in Salzburg, Austria. People from all over the world talked about problems with uranium mining, nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear tests, and disposing of radioactive waste.

Protests in the United States

There were many protests against nuclear power in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. These included protests by the Clamshell Alliance at the Seabrook Station Nuclear Power Plant and the Abalone Alliance at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Other big protests happened after the 1979 Three Mile Island accident.

In May 1979, many people, including the Governor of California, joined a protest in Washington, D.C., against nuclear power. On September 23, 1979, almost 200,000 people protested in New York City. Protests against nuclear power helped close the Shoreham, Yankee Rowe, Millstone I, Rancho Seco, Maine Yankee, and about a dozen other nuclear plants.

On June 12, 1982, one million people gathered in New York City's Central Park to speak out against nuclear weapons and war. It was the biggest anti-nuclear protest and the biggest political event in American history. On June 20, 1983, protests happened at 50 places across the United States. In 1986, hundreds of people walked from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. There were many protests and peace camps at the Nevada Test Site during the 1980s and 1990s.

On May 1, 2005, many people marched in New York past the United Nations, 60 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This was the biggest anti-nuclear march in the U.S. for many years. In the 2000s, people spoke out against new nuclear reactor plans in the United States. In 2013, four old reactors were closed forever. Vermont Yankee, in Vernon, is set to close in 2014 after many protests. People in New York State want to close Indian Point Energy Center, which is 30 miles from New York City.

Recent developments

For many years after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, nuclear power was not a big topic in most countries, and some anti-nuclear groups stopped working. But in the 2000s, nuclear power became a topic again because of activities by the nuclear industry, new reactor designs, and worries about climate change. Then the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster made people worry about nuclear power again.

In January 2004, up to 15,000 people marched in Paris against a new type of nuclear reactor.

On May 1, 2005, many people marched in New York past the United Nations. This was the biggest anti-nuclear march in the U.S. for many years. In Britain, many people protested against replacing the old Trident weapons system.

On March 17, 2007, protests happened in five French towns against building EPR plants.

In June 2007, many people in Kudus, Indonesia, spoke out against building a nuclear power plant there.

In February 2008, scientists and engineers spoke out against closing a nuclear power plant in Japan.

The International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament happened in Oslo in February 2008. The Government of Norway, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Hoover Institute organized it. The meeting was called Achieving the Vision of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons and aimed to get agreement between countries with and without nuclear weapons about the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

In October 2008, about 15,000 people stopped a train carrying radioactive waste from France to a dump in Germany. This was one of the biggest such protests in years. In 2009, green parties in the European parliament grew.

In October 2008, more than 30 people were taken away during a big anti-nuclear protest at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston for the first time in ten years. About 400 people joined the protest.

In 2008 and 2009, people spoke out against new nuclear reactor plans in the United States and against letting old nuclear plants keep operating longer.

On September 5, 2009, a big march happened in Berlin with many farm tractors and people. They wanted Germany to close all nuclear plants by 2020 and close a radioactive dump. Gorleben is where the anti-nuclear movement in Germany has tried to stop trains carrying waste and block roads to the site.

On April 21, 2010, environmental groups asked the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to look into possible problems with the AP1000 reactor design.

On April 24, 2010, about 120,000 people formed a human chain between the nuclear plants at Krümmel and Brunsbüttel. They were protesting Germany’s plans to make nuclear power plants last longer.

In May 2010, about 25,000 people, including peace groups and survivors of atomic bombs, marched in New York to the United Nations, calling for no nuclear weapons. In September 2010, Germany decided to use more nuclear energy, which caused new protests in Berlin and other places. On September 18, 2010, tens of thousands of Germans surrounded Chancellor Angela Merkel’s office in a big anti-nuclear protest since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. In October 2010, tens of thousands protested in Munich against Germany’s nuclear policy. This was the biggest anti-nuclear event in Bavaria in over twenty years. In November 2010, violent protests happened against a train carrying processed nuclear waste in Germany. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Dannenberg. Around 16,000 police were there to manage the protests.

In December 2010, about 10,000 people spoke out against the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in India’s Maharashtra state, with many police there.

In December 2010, five activists were found guilty of entering a military base in Tacoma, US, to speak out against submarine nuclear weapons stored there.

In January 2011, five young Japanese people started a hunger strike for more than a week outside government offices in Yamaguchi City to speak out against building the Kaminoseki Nuclear Power Plant near the Seto Inland Sea.

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, protests against nuclear power grew in Germany. On March 12, 2011, many Germans formed a human chain from Stuttgart to the Neckarwestheim power plant. On March 14, 110,000 people protested in 450 German towns. On March 15, 2011, Angela Merkel said seven nuclear plants that started before 1980 would close while studying faster renewable energy commercialization.

In March 2011, about 2,000 people in Taiwan protested for stopping the building of the island’s fourth nuclear power plant.

In March 2011, more than 200,000 people joined anti-nuclear protests in four big German cities. Thousands of Germans spoke out against nuclear power nationwide on April 2, 2011.

At a U.N. meeting in April 2011, environmental activists spoke up for using renewable energy instead of nuclear power and dealing with climate change.

In mid-April, many people protested at two events in Tokyo against nuclear power.

In India, environmentalists, local farmers, and fishermen have protested for months against the planned Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project six-reactor complex. Protests grew after Japan’s Fukushima disaster.

In May 2011, about 20,000 people joined Switzerland’s biggest anti-nuclear protest in 25 years. Days later, the government decided to not build new nuclear power plants.

In May 2011, 5,000 people joined a fun-like protest in Taipei City. This was part of a nationwide “No Nuke Action” protest, asking the government to stop building a Fourth Nuclear Plant and use more sustainable energy.

On World Environment Day in June 2011, environmental groups protested against Taiwan’s nuclear power policy.

Three months after the Fukushima disaster, thousands of people in Japan protested.

In August 2011, about 2,500 people, including farmers and fishermen, marched in Tokyo.

In September 2011, anti-nuclear protesters marched in Tokyo and other cities to mark six months since the earthquake and tsunami and speak out against the government’s handling of the nuclear crisis from meltdowns at the Fukushima plant. Protesters asked for shutting down all Japanese nuclear plants and switching to other energy sources.

Tens of thousands of people marched in central Tokyo in September 2011, chanting “Sayonara nuclear power” and waving signs, to ask Japan’s government to stop using atomic energy after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Since March 2011, protests around planned Indian nuclear power plants have grown, making people question nuclear energy as a clean and safe choice instead of fossil fuels.

In October 2011, more than 200 protesters blocked the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station site in the UK.

In January 2012, 22 South Korean women’s groups asked for a nuclear-free future.

In January 2012, three hundred anti-nuclear protesters marched against plans to build a new nuclear power station at Wylfa in the UK.

On the anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, protesters across Japan called for ending nuclear power and reactors.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann expects anti-nuclear petition drives to start in at least six European Union countries in 2012 to ask the EU to stop using nuclear power.

In March 2012, about 2,000 people protested in Taiwan’s capital against nuclear power after the big tsunami that hit Japan one year ago.

In March 2012, hundreds of anti-nuclear protesters gathered at the Australian headquarters of global mining companies BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. The march asked to stop uranium mining in Australia.

In March 2012, South Korean environmental groups held a rally in Seoul against nuclear power. Over 5,000 people attended.

In March 2012, police said they arrested nearly 200 anti-nuclear activists protesting the restart of work at the long-stalled Indian Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

In June 2012, tens of thousands of Japanese protesters joined anti-nuclear power rallies in Tokyo and Osaka, against the government’s decision to restart the first idled reactors since the Fukushima disaster.

In March 2013, 68,000 Taiwanese protested across major cities against nuclear power and the island’s fourth nuclear plant.

In April 2013, thousands of Scottish campaigners, lawmakers, and union leaders protested against nuclear weapons. The Scrap Trident Coalition wants to end nuclear weapons and use the money for health, education, and welfare.

In March 2014, around 130,000 Taiwanese marched in an anti-nuclear protest across Taiwan. They asked the government to remove nuclear power plants in Taiwan. The march happened before the third anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Construction of the Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant was stopped in April 2014.

Impact

Impact on popular culture

See also: List of films about nuclear issues

Since the 1950s, books and movies have talked about not using nuclear weapons. Films like Godzilla (1954), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb from 1964, and The China Syndrome from 1979 showed the dangers of nuclear power. The story of Karen Silkwood, a real worker who found problems at a nuclear plant, inspired the movie Silkwood. Documentaries such as Dark Circle talked about how nuclear testing affected people and nature. Music groups like Musicians United for Safe Energy held concerts to tell people about nuclear issues.

Impact on policy

See also: Nuclear energy policy, Nuclear power by country, Nuclear free zone, List of canceled nuclear plants in the United States, and Anti-nuclear movement in Australia

Public opinion and actions against nuclear weapons helped change government rules. For example, people’s concerns led to agreements to limit nuclear testing and reduce the number of nuclear weapons. In the United States, many states chose not to build new nuclear power plants because of worries about waste and cost. After serious accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, some countries decided to stop using nuclear power. For example, Germany planned to shut down all its nuclear power plants by 2022. Other countries, like New Zealand, made laws to keep their lands free from nuclear weapons and testing.

Public opinion surveys on nuclear issues

Main article: Public opinion on nuclear issues

Surveys show that many people worry about the safety of nuclear power plants, especially after events like the Fukushima disaster. While some support keeping existing nuclear plants, most people do not want new ones built. There is also concern about the risk of terrorist attacks on nuclear facilities. However, some people believe nuclear power can help fight climate change because it doesn’t produce greenhouse gases. Support for nuclear power often depends on how much people know about it, with those living near nuclear plants often showing more support.

Criticism

Some people think that groups working against nuclear energy don’t always tell the whole story. They say these groups sometimes make nuclear energy seem worse than it really is.

A few environmentalists have changed their minds about nuclear energy. They believe it can help reduce pollution from coal and oil. Some of these people used to work against nuclear energy but now support it. They think it’s important to use all energy sources wisely to protect the environment.