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The Nuclear Comeback
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The Nuclear Comeback


Have you ever wondered if nuclear power has advantages that outweigh the (at times deadly serious) disadvantages? Are you interested in seeing the inside of Chernobyl reactor number 4, the one that melted down and showered radioactive waste across Europe in 1986. Is there a connection between nuclear power and nuclear weapons? THE NUCLEAR COMEBACK asks the experts.
All of us on planet Earth are facing climate change. The air and land are becoming increasingly polluted. The quality and cost of living go in opposite directions sometimes. Nuclear power advocates use the global warming issue to present nuclear power as a kind of 'green' energy. They claim nuclear power produces zero carbon emissions and is clean and safe. But is that the whole story?

Credits

Original Title: The Nuclear Comeback
Language: English-Swedish-Russian original version with English subtitles
Country of Origin: New Zealand
Year : 2007
Duration: 75 Min.
Color
Director: Justin Pemberton
Camera: D.J. Stipsen
Editing: Bella Erikson
Sound: Tim Brott
Music: Anika Moa & Jason Smith
Production: The TV Set Ltd., Megan Jones, Justin Pemberton
Festivals: 2009: One World Prague (CZ); 2008: Cinemambiente, Torino (I)
Awards: 2007: Best New Zealand Feature Documentary, DOCNZ
Research: Megan Jones, Rachel Antony, Tash Christie Archive footage: Gil Hanley, Greenpeace, International Atomic Energy Agency supported by: NZ on Air


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About the Film

How clean is it?

We learn that nuclear waste has to be stored for 100,000 years. Yes, it takes that long for high-level radioactive waste to break down. Storage areas for this waste are very expensive and take up huge amounts of space. Is nuclear power cheap? England's first nuclear power plant has stopped producing energy. But the decommission process will continue for the next 120 years. The plant produced energy for only 47 years. Now people have to work there the next 120 years to deactivate it and clean it up. That is simply part of the what nuclear power means. The Nuclear Comeback – Torness Nuclear Power Station

In spite of the technical nature of the subject, the photography is beautiful and humanizing. The ghostly impressions of the deserted town near the Chernobyl reactors are stunning. They remind us what happens when nuclear power goes wrong. Pro-nuclear advocates also have lots of air time for their side of the story. Pro renewable energy activists too. Listen to the experts and make up your own mind.

Film Comment:

I_edit_2
I_edit_2  31.05.2010
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Yes, that was very enlightening for me to learn. I really did not realize that nuclear waste takes 100,000 years to decompose :-( It saddens me to think that people are ready to sacrifice the well-being of our planet in the future. It makes no sense if you take a balanced view of things.
Jorik
Jorik  15.05.2010
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There are indeed so many!! What about the process of deposing and the time that it will take for the disposal to become harmless 100.000 years. If you want to build more and more of these power plants, then you will stuff the earth full of these nuclear waste!
I_edit_2
I_edit_2  15.05.2010
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For me, the most damning argument against nuclear power (there are so many actually!) was the whole scene about decommissioning the power plant in England. I mean, it is INSANE to spend 120 years deactivating a nuclear power plant that is not producing energy. What kind of cost analysis could possible factor that in and come up in favor of nuclear power?
Jorik
Jorik  14.05.2010
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I've been thrown in many thoughts after seeing the film. I can agree on several things discussed in the film in favor of nuclear energy, but I'm not convinced of it's role in saving the planet from climate change. That is also because of it's improved long term affect on the earth and it's inhabitants. Dangers are big and it will be a political power tool in all the wars that are now here and will come. I like the statement what says the power of sunlight, wind and waves is not yet exploited.
I_edit_2
I_edit_2  06.05.2010
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This is the best film I have seen on this topic.