Reposted from our friends gotnuclear ! Nuclear has one of the smallest death rates of all major energy sources, including renewables. It has consistently ranked among the lowest in deaths per unit of energy produced. Sadly, of course, accidents do happen. Chernobyl (1986) often stands out as the most serious. Due to bad reactor design & even worse government response, the tragic deaths of 134 emergency workers were entirely avoidable, along with thousands of cases of leukemia and thyroid cancer. But, it’s important to keep nuclear accidents in perspective. For example, far more lives have been lost in coal mining accidents, just in the last ten years, than the total lost due to Chernobyl, the worst nuclear accident in history. We have to keep in mind that nuclear energy exists in a broader energy context, with fossil fuels as a main alternative. The nuclear plants that are being shut down in Germany (due to misinformed public outcry) have almost all been replaced with coal-burning po...