At USF Helen Caldicott rails against the dangers of nuclear energy listen

Tags: Dr. Helen Caldicott, nuclear energy, Progress Energy, General Electric, Union of Concerned Scientists, Chernobyl

Helen Caldicott

photo by Andrea Lypka

Customers of Progress Energy Florida are paying higher electricity rates to fund future construction of a nuclear plant in Levy County. But a report released Thursday by the Union of Concerned Scientists finds that energy efficiency and renewable energy would be cheaper and safer than building the new nuclear plant. Thursday night at USF anti-nuclear advocate Helen Caldicott railed against the dangers of nuclear energy.

Pediatrician Helen Caldicott, shares her time between Australia and America and she has founded non-profits like Physicians for Social Responsibility. She foresees a dark future, if people continue to rely on nuclear energy.

Ten million people could be affected if there’s a nuclear meltdown at the reactor 35 miles from Manhattan. Caldicott reads a worst-case scenario from a government sponsored Rasmussen report updated by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Radiation from nuclear disasters like Chernobyl has caused cancer and other health problems. Caldicott has been a physician and she has experienced cancer in her practice and her family.

Caldicott says nuclear power has been humankind’s worst enemy because radioactive elements can get into the food web.

She says companies like General Electric that produce nuclear power are the culprits and are often in bed with the government and scientists.

Caldicott says that Russia and America hold 97 percent of nuclear weapons, increasing the possibility of a nuclear war.She prescribes a carbon free and nuclear free future for survival.

Melinda Moreshi left the Occupy Tampa gathering to hear Caldicott’s lecture.

Listen to Helen Caldicott's lecture at USF

Video of the lecture

Here are more WMNF stories about nuclear power and Helen Caldicott:

Interview with nuclear critic Helen Caldicott, MD

Anti-nuke activist to speak in Clearwater

Helen Caldicott with Mary Glenney, Women's Show