On 21st October 2018 an article was published by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, reporting on a rather curious scene that took place in Munich. In a ‘Nuclear Pride’ event, organizations like ‘Ecologists for Nuclear’ and the ‘Humanist party’ alongside other participants tried to raise awareness for their goal: The return to nuclear energy, whilst simultaneously calling themselves climate protectors.
A few years after the devastating nuclear accidents of Fukushima and Tschernobyl, which both resulted in extremely high numbers of casualties, the international nuclear lobby decided to shun the limelight for a little while. But apparently it takes more than just two global disasters to bring them down for good. The global nuclear society, the old and powerful networks between enterprises, lobbyists and nuclear parties are still very much in tact. Even though renewable energies are on the rise in the western world, and many outdated nuclear power plants are going offline, dictatorships and economically weak countries continue to establish new nuclear power plants. That is one of the reasons why new NPP’s are promoted so massively in 2018. The nuclear power plant operators make a big effort to try and win over the wary public after Fukushima and Tschernobyl. Consequently cunning campaigns are run and used to cover up facts, to spread half-truths and to boast.
The only thing that has changed over the years are the propaganda and enforcement strategies that are being utilized. In former times, conflicts revolving around nuclear energy, protection of the environment and climate were argued out between environmentalists and opposing enterprises. Unfortunately the environmentalist movement today still thinks and acts upon outdated ways of thinking and conflict patterns. Nowadays those conflicts are being ‘outsourced’. It is alarming how all over Germany organisations of the nuclear and coal corporate groups, foundations and faked citizen initiatives like ‘Nuclear pride’ are supporting the usage of nuclear power plants and coal power stations while fighting environmentally friendly renewable energies.
The German newspaper die Zeit states the following about the ‘German sister’ of Nuclear Pride: 'Disguised as independent citizen initiative, the organisation ‘Bürger für Technik BfT (Citizens for Technology)’ has been praising nuclear energy for a long time. In reality the BfT is a group of energy industrial lobbyists. In addition nuclear scientists and engineers of the KTG (nuclear technology corporation) are pleading for the peaceful usage of nuclear energy. Furthermore The KTG are receiving financial support from the Deutschen Atomforum (The German nuclear forum), which officially represents the interests of the nuclear power plant operators.'
A recently produced NPP-Commercial titled: ‘Thorium-Atomkraft ohne Risiko? (Thorium- Risk-free nuclear energy?)’ acts as the perfect example for the clever enforcement strategies of the industry. The commercial makes it seem as if it were the citizens who want the establishment of new nuclear power plants, not the corporate groups.
Dr. Sebastian Schwark of the PR- agency Hill & Knowlton said the following: ‘The key question is not how to avoid but how to manage protest.’
President Trump’s electoral campaign was largely financed by wealthy American lobbyists who also bear a tremendous interest in keeping NPPs in further operation. Additionally they strive for the erection of new nuclear power plants and coal power stations and further fuel the denial of climate change by fighting against renewable energies.
What Nuclear Pride would like to keep a secret: Not only is the usage of nuclear energy life threatening but also the most expensive form of climate protection. In fact electricity from alternative energy sources that are combated vigorously by both the nuclear and coal lobby has become more cost efficient in recent times than the electricity produced by dangerous nuclear power plants. Environmental researchers have calculated that investments in energy conservation could prevent double the amount of carbon dioxide from being produced than comparable investments in the new construction of NPPs.
The nuclear lobbyist Michael Shellenberger is being portrayed as ‘environmental activist’ by the public and media. But Michael Shellenberger is ‘a radioactive wolf in green clothing: Dissecting the latest pro-nuclear spin’ as Independentaustralia goes on to describe the impact of the nuclear travelling salesman. Furthermore Friends of the Earth Australia critically analyzes the well financed global lobbying activities. We would appreciate a similarly critical analysis by the German media. In addition both the nuclear and genetic engineering corporations pursue an almost identical PR-concept with Patrick Moore.
Eco-optimism, Eco-realism and the Nuclear Pride Coalition The industry guided eco-optimism and eco-realism campaign is an American campaign, run to divide the environmental movement. Now it’s being carried over to Germany and the whole of Europe. It lies in the eco-optimists interest to attack positive terms like protection of the environment, sustainability and ecology. Furthermore they try to discredit sustainability and put environmental movements and religious sects in political relation. Simultaneously Nuclear Power Plants, Coal Power Stations and genetic engineering are being praised. The Nuclear Pride Coalition counts as one of the most aggressive industry guided ecooptimistic groups.
There’s a basic principle in advertising business: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth.”(Proverbs, 27:2) According to this principle it does not appear very credible when McDonalds itself claims that McDonalds-Burgers are the best, when oil and coal corporate groups deny the existence of the climate change, when the tobacco industry plays down the risk of cancer, when Bayer-Monsanto extols genetic engineering and when nuclear corporate groups praise the safety of nuclear energy. But when “neutral third parties” assume responsibility for advertising they make a detached and therefore plausible impression and are able to cleverly sell the corporate groups opinions. On this account tobacco-, asbestos-, nuclear- and genetic engineering groups frequently exploit the credibility of scientists and “former environmentalists” like Michael Shellenberger.
The Nuclear Pride Festival was just the visible tip of the propaganda-eisberg. In the past it often was the worlds best and simultaneously worst PR-organisations that have been pulling the strings behind PR-campaigns like the Nuclear Pride festival. Burson Marsteller., for instance, is one of them. One of the conflicting messages spread by the worlds most influential PR-agencies reads as follows: "The manmade climate change doesn’t exist but we still urgently need more nuclear power plants to fend off the impending climate disasters." Furthermore it was those same old PR-agencies that have been lying through their teeth to benefit the Swiss Nuclear Forum. Moreover similar campaigns have been supported by paid trolls that were hired to anonymously write hundreds of "letters to the editor" and to litter online forums with promotional messages. Even the manipulation of Wikipedia articles is part of the PR-agencies everyday business. You’ve only got a chance to fight against this manipulative force if you don’t stay silent and utilize all of your knowledge and intelligence to compose your own letters to the editor and your own online posts to eradicate purposely planted misinformation.
The polar bear mascot called Melty which was supposed to draw attention to the melting of the polar ice caps during the lobbyist-protest in Munich is an especially clever PR-stunt. It’s not the citizen initiatives that are hiding behind the façade of those Nuclear Pride protests and associations but PR-agencies and corporate groups.
Axel Mayer, BUND- managing director
Nuclear Pride Coalition & Michael Shellenberger: Greenwash and Propaganda 2018
Nuclear Pride Coalition / »Stand up for nuclear« / Critical Climate Action / WEPlanet / Nuklearia: Industriegelenkte Atom-Propaganda mit vorgeschobenen Klimaargumenten, Greenwash und Greenscamming
Einschub aus der Zeitschrift Capital.de
"Es ist auffällig, dass ausschließlich Staaten mit viel Steuergeld in neue Atomkraftwerke investieren - und nicht etwa privatwirtschaftliche Unternehmen. Auch in Deutschland zeigen die Energiebosse kein Interesse. Denn längst ist ihnen klar: Atomkraftwerke sind viel zu teuer. Keine Kilowattstunde aus einem neu errichteten Atomkraftwerk kann konkurrieren mit einer aus einem Windrad oder einem Solarpanel. Das IPCC hat in einem Statement klargemacht: „Neu errichtete Kernkraftwerke waren zu keiner Zeit wettbewerbsfähig und werden es auf absehbare Zeit auch nicht werden.“
Neue Atomkraftwerke - altmodische Technik: Nuclear Pride Coalition / »Stand up for nuclear« / Critical Climate Action / WEPlanet / Nuklearia:
Auch neue Atomkraftwerke und Thorium Reaktoren sind gefährlich und teuer. Sie liefern "Grundlast", die in Zeiten von kostengünstiger Solar- und Windenergie nicht gebraucht wird.
Atomare Tarnorganisationen im englischsprachigen Raum:
Nuklear Pride, RePlant, Critical Climate Action, "tech for future" und Greenscamming
"Greenscamming ist eine PR-Technik, bei der umweltfreundlich klingende Namen und Bezeichnungen für Organisationen oder Produkte ausgewählt werden, die nicht umweltfreundlich sind. Eine häufig angewandte Greenscamming-Methode besteht z.B. darin, dass sich Anti-Umwelt-Organisationen umweltfreundlich bzw. „grün“ klingende Namen geben, die ein Interesse am Umweltschutz suggerieren, um die Öffentlichkeit über ihre wahren Absichten und Motive zu täuschen. (…) In diesem Zusammenhang verweist er auf eine von der Union of Concerned Scientists angefertigte Liste von Klimaleugnerorganisationen, die auch 43 vom Ölkonzern Exxon finanzierte Organisationen enthalte. Keine einzige dieser Organisationen trage dort einen Namen, aus dem man ihr Eintreten gegen Klimaschutz ableiten könne. (...) Beispiele für Greenscamming-Organisationen sind die National Wetland Coalition, Friends of Eagle Mountain, The Sahara Club, The Alliance for Environment and Resources, The Abundant Wildlife Society of North America, die Global Climate Coalition, das National Wilderness Institute, die Environmental Policy Alliance des Center for Organizational Research and Education und das American Council on Science and Health. Hinter diesen vorgeblichen Umweltschutzorganisationen verbergen sich vor allem die Interessen von Wirtschaftsbranchen. Beispielsweise stehen hinter der National Wetland Coalition Erdöl-Bohrunternehmen und Immobilienentwickler, während sich hinter den Friends of Eagle Mountain ein Bergbauunternehmen verbarg, das Tagebaugruben in Mülldeponien umwandeln möchte. Hinter der Global Climate Coalition standen wiederum Wirtschaftsunternehmen, die gegen staatlich verordnete Klimaschutzmaßnahmen kämpften. Weitere Greenscam-Organisationen sind das US Council for Energy Awareness, hinter dem die Kernenergieindustrie steht, die Wilderness Impact Research Foundation, die Holzfäller- und Viehzüchter-Interessen vertritt, und die American Environmental Foundation, die eine Interessenvertretung von Grundstücksbesitzern ist. Quelle und mehr Infos:Wikipedia
Nuclear Pride, Michael Shellenberger, atomarer Greenwash
