14 DAY TRIAL // Greenpeace members and supporters have absolutely no respect and compassion for the elderly. Provided that the “elderly” are nuclear plants that have reached their retirement age, that is.
This past March 18, members of the organization saw fit to show just how much they didn't like old nuclear plants by occupying one such facility in France.
The nuclear plant that they took over is dubbed Fessenheim. On its website, Greenpeace details that the facility is now 37 years old, and that, because of this, it constitutes a threat to the environment.
It goes on to argue that, because its age makes it more prone to accidents, Fessenheim also endangers the wellbeing of millions of people who live in its proximity.
“At 37 years old, Fessenheim is the oldest nuclear power plant in France. Greenpeace has identified its reactors as two of the most dangerous in Europe and they should be shut down immediately,” Greenpeace says.
“The area around the plant is vulnerable to earthquakes and flooding. It lies in the heart of Europe, between France, Germany and Switzerland, with seven million people living with 100 kilometers [62.13 miles] of the reactors,” it adds.
Hoping to convince high officials in France to retire the 37-year-old nuclear plant, some 60 Greenpeace members unfurled a banner displaying the message “Stop Risking Europe” next to one of the facility's reactors.
Greenpeace appears to have staged this anti-nuclear power demonstration after learning that France is looking into the possibility of extending the lifetime of some of its nuclear reactors to beyond 40 years.
This is despite the fact that, not very long ago, France's President Hollande promised that Fessenheim would be retired by 2016 and that the country would cut its dependence on nuclear power from 75% to 50% by 2025.
“We're demanding Mr Hollande keep his promise by limiting maximum reactor lifetimes to 40 years by law and ensuring more nuclear plants are shut down.”
“With climate change upon us it should really go without saying that Europe needs a real energy transition based on renewable energy. This needs to happen fast,” the organization says.
According to a recent Greenpeace report, some 44% of Europe's nuclear reactors are currently too old to function, and should therefore be shut down without delay.
More precisely, the environmentalists say that, out of 151 nuclear reactors that are now operational across the European Union, 66 are older than 30 years, 25 are over 35 years old, and 7 have been around for over 40 years.