The 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant became a cautionary tale for a generation of Americans. But experts at Northeastern University say a plan to reopen the plant shows opinions are changing regarding nuclear power and its role in a clean energy future. “‘Nuclear’ has a really bad reputation as a word, but for use in our society, it is actually very convenient,” says Alessandra Di Credico, a teaching professor of physics at Northeastern University who teaches a course on energy and the environment.
Meanwhile, Stephen Flynn, a professor of political science and founding director of the Global Resilience Institute at Northeastern, says that the planned reopening is “probably a good thing.” “We have to figure out how we up our game on the nuclear side as well as on other efforts around renewable energy if we’re going to transition from fossil fuels,” says Flynn, who recently led a National Academies committee reporting on the threat of nuclear terrorism. “Energy demand is going up, the grid system is becoming more fragile and the supply is diminishing. We have to look at a whole range of energy sources. Nuclear is clearly one of them.”
