Abundant, Clean, and Safe
核能：充裕，清洁，且安全
France gets 70% of its power from one carbon-free source. Sweden 40%. Switzerland 36%. The United States 20%.
法国 70% 的能源来自无碳资源。瑞典是 40%。瑞士是 36%。美国是 20%。
For those who wish to create a world free of carbon emissions, France is clearly the role model.
对于那些希望营造一个没有碳排放的世界的人，法国显然是楷模。
That source of energy, by the way, is not solar or wind. It’s not coal, oil, or natural gas, either.
顺道一提，那一能量来源，不是太阳能或风能。也不是煤炭，石油或天然气。
It’s nuclear.
而是核能。
Nuclear energy is not only cleaner than all other forms of energy. It’s also cheaper to create, abundant, and safe.
核能不仅比所有其他能源更干净。它同样造价更低，更充裕，也更安全。
Yes, safe.
没错，安全。
So, if the world is going to end in a few years because of global warming due to rising CO2 levels, why aren’t we going all out to produce this abundant, clean, and safe form of energy? Why aren’t there dozens of nuclear power plants in development all over the world?
那么，如果这个世界将会在几年内终结，由于二氧化碳水平上升带来的全球暖化，我们为什么不竭尽全力生产这种充裕、干净且安全的能源？为什么不在世界各地大力开发核电站？
Well, we all know the answer, right? Nuclear energy is just too risky… too dangerous.
好吧，我们都知道答案不是吗？核能实在是太冒险……太危险了。
So, even though we’re told we’re facing an “existential crisis”, which means humans may cease to exist—even though we might all wither away in unbearable heat; or starve because of world-wide droughts; or drown in rising seas; or be killed in Mad Max-style riots—
因此，即便我们得知我们正面临一场「生存危机」，即人类或许不再存在，即便我们可能在无法忍受的高温中凋亡；因为全球干旱而挨饿；淹没在上升的海水中；在疯狂麦克斯式的暴乱中被杀。
Nuclear energy is off the table, because… it’s too darn risky.
核能也不予考虑，因为……它实在太危险啦。
Hmmm.
唔……
I want to be sure I have this right. The goal is to save humanity. There’s a way to save humanity. And we won’t take it. Because we’re afraid there might be a bad accident… or something.
我想确认我理解对了。我们目标是拯救人类。这有个办法拯救人类。而我们不会选择它，因为我们害怕会有糟糕的事故……和别的情况。
Does that make sense to you? Because it doesn’t to me.
你觉得这有道理吗？因为我不觉得。
But maybe I’m not giving enough weight to the safety argument, so let’s take a closer look at that since no one, not even the most radical environmentalist, disputes that nuclear power produces massive amounts of energy cleanly and efficiently.
但或许我对安全问题没有给予足够重视，那一起来更深入研究一下，因为没有人，甚至是最激进的环保主义者，会怀疑核能产生巨量能量，干净且高效。
Safety, like everything else, is a matter of context. So, here’s some context. 1.4 million people die worldwide every year in traffic accidents, 2.3 million in work-related accidents, 4.2 million from air pollution. Deaths directly related to nuclear power? Under 200—not annually but in the entire history of the nuclear power industry.
安全，就像所有事物，离不开背景。那么，以下是一些背景。每年世界上有 140 万人死于交通事故，230 万人死于工伤事故，420 万人死于空气污染。与核能直接相关的死亡？不到 200 人，不是每年，而是在核能产业的整个历史上。
But what about those famous nuclear disasters we’ve all heard so much about? Didn’t they poison untold thousands? Three Mile Island in 1979, Chernobyl in 1986, and Fukushima in 2011.
但是那些我们都耳熟能详的著名核灾难呢？它们不是毒害了成千上万人？1979 年的三里岛，1986 年的切尔诺贝利，2011 年的福岛。
Okay, let’s deal with each one.
好吧，让我们逐个讨论。
Three Mile Island:
三里岛：
There was an accident at the plant, yes, but the amount of radiation that leaked was no more than one might receive taking a chest x-ray. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acknowledged as much four weeks after the initial media hysteria died down. “We goofed,” the commission told Congress. “There was no danger of any hydrogen explosion.'' But that didn’t grab the headlines.
核电站确实发生了事故没错，但泄漏出的辐射量还不如接受一次胸部X光高。美国核能管理委员会在媒体最初的歇斯底里停息四周后才承认，「我们搞错了，」委员会告诉国会。「没有任何氢气爆炸的危险。」但这并没成为头条。
Chernobyl:
切尔诺贝利：
The accident developed into a catastrophe only because of pitiful safety procedures unique to the Soviet Union. It would never have occurred in the West. Even so, initial reports of radiation leakage turned out to be grossly exaggerated. According to the World Health Organization, “As of mid-2005”—that’s 19 years after the explosion—“fewer than 50 deaths had been directly attributed to radiation from the disaster.”
这场事故发展成一场灾难全因为苏联独有的可怜的安全程序。这永远不会发生在西方。即便如此，最初的核辐射泄漏报告其实也被过度夸大。根据世界卫生组织，「到 2005 年中，」爆炸发生 19 年后，「不到 50 例死亡直接归因于这次灾难造成的核辐射。」
Fukushima:
福岛：
In 2011, as a result of an earthquake and tsunami, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant was destroyed, and nuclear radiation was released. Yet, despite the media hysteria, not one person at the nuclear plant died because of radiation leaks. The deaths that occurred in the area were the result of the tsunami.
在 2011 年，因为一场地震和海啸，福岛核电站被摧毁，泄漏出了核辐射。尽管媒体大肆渲染，核电站中没有一人是死于辐射泄漏。发生在该地区的死亡是由于海啸。
Well, what about nuclear waste? Surely that’s terribly harmful.
好吧，那核废物呢？那无疑极其有害。
Actually, no. All the nuclear waste ever generated in the US can fit on a single football field stacked less than seventy feet high. It’s easily and safely buried in steel canisters encased in concrete.
实际上，并不是。美国产生的所有核废料都可以堆到一个足球场内，叠起来不到七十英尺高。它可以轻易且安全地埋在钢罐里再封上混凝土。
All this information is easily available. But the anti-nuclear movement with the help of their media allies have spent a tremendous amount of time and money obscuring the facts. They’re more interested in filing lawsuits against this particular form of clean energy than telling the truth about it.
所有这些信息都唾手可得。但反核能运动在他们媒体盟友的帮助下，耗费数之不尽的时间与金钱以掩盖事实。他们更关心的是起诉反对这种特殊的清洁能源，而不是讲述有关它的真相。
