Environmentalists vs nuclear power

The drive to enhance nuclear power in India is a result of many factors, including the burgeoning demand for energy, diminishing fossil fuel reserves, and the need for a cost-effective alternative to generate electricity on a large scale. Non-conventional energy sources must be tapped to the fullest extent but there is no viable alternative to nuclear power if we are going to bridge the enormous energy deficit, projected to touch 150,000 megawatts by 2030. Environmentalists as a group tend to range themselves against nuclear power; and paradoxically, this ideologically determined stance works against their own declared objectives. Existing alternatives for large-scale power generation such as hydroelectric projects often bring massive deforestation and displacement of people; and emissions from coal-fired plants are a major contributor to harmful greenhouse gases. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has done well to resist pressures from various environmental groups to scupper the 6x1650 MW nuclear power project in Jaitapur in Maharashtra. The environmental clearance granted to the project, the first concrete outcome of the decision of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group to lift restrictions on civil nuclear cooperation, has come after a serious hearing of apprehensions over its environmental impact. Clearance has also been accompanied by as many as 35 conditions and safeguards of a general as well as specific nature.
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article924117.ece