Civil Liberties Implications of Nuclear Power Development–Preface, The

Introduction

To redirect the awesome force that had devastated Hiroshima andNagasaki some eight years before, President Eisenhower in 1953 inaugurated the Atoms for Peace program, heralding a source of electricity “too cheap to meter.” However, the current status of commercial nuclear power stands in stark contrast to earlier predictions. The costs of nuclear power, both economic and non-economic, have received increased attention, asAmericans vigorously debate whether to halt or to slow the development of commercial nuclear power.