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Helen Cadicott Nuclear Power Is Not The Answer Summary

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In “Nuclear Power is Not the Answer,” Helen Caldicott argues that pursuing nuclear energy would be a detriment to the United States. According to Caldicott, nuclear power, contrary to what the industry claims, is not clean and green, but rather a pollutant and a strong contributor to the destruction of the ozone layer. Because of the availability of uranium ore steadily decreasing, the process is requiring more and more fossil fuels to extract the ore. Caldicott projects that within ten to twenty years, nuclear reactors will be counterproductive because of the amount of fossil fuel it will take to mine the remaining uranium. In addition to air pollution, nuclear power plants also emit radioactive gases and materials that have the potential …show more content…

Because Caldicott begins her writing with her thesis, it can be assumed that her readers will continue reading without hesitation. If the audience were hostile and unsympathetic, Caldicott would have waited until the end to present her thesis to give a hearing for the truth. Caldicott’s placement of the thesis at the beginning of the introduction suggests a sympathetic audience that will agree and continue to read. Caldicott then opens and closes her writing with excoriating President George Bush and Vice President Dick Chaney. Caldicott’s opening statement accuses the administration for lulling the public “into believing their oft-repeated dictums” concerning nuclear energy. Caldicott later criticizes Vice President Dick Chaney for his secret meetings with Enron and questions whether or not “legal and ethical guidelines were crossed.” Such negative elucidation of an administration well-known for being right-winged, Republican conservatives suggests that Caldicott and her audience are opposite of Bush and Chaney—making them left-leaning in their political views. One can also assume that Caldicott’s audience is educated and well-versed on topics of energy policy and technology. Caldicott takes little time to explain the nuclear energy extraction process, the depths of nuclear energy, or the processes of nuclear power plants. Caldicott assumes her audience is already informed on such processes, so she jumps straight to her criticism of nuclear

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