Atomic Industrial Forum Public Information Seminars

Abstract

In a growing crisis situation, as government leaders strive to formulate and implement a workable long-term energy program, many experts agree that only coal and uranium are available to supplement our dwindling supplies of domestic oil and gas to make us independent of foreign sources of these fuels. At this critical time, the debate over nuclear power has shifted from the technological to the political arena, and the scientific community should recognize its responsibility to “break its silence” and should become involved in communicating the facts about nuclear power to decision makers and the general public. Independent scientists who do not recognize their responsibility to provide this guidance are doing a disservice to their discipline and to the broader areas of society it affects. By not speaking out on controversial subjects within their fields, scientists and technicians are assuming the risk that political and public policy will be established without the benefit of the full range of expert opinion.