At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Director Oliver Stone branded the environmental left’s stance on nuclear power as “wrong” and destructive.
Stone, a left-leaning filmmaker, is at the famous conference to promote his new documentary, Nuclear Now!, about nuclear power’s role in powering the world’s future.
The Oscar-winning director, whose controversial political philosophy has previously thrown him in hot water for praising Vladimir Putin, among other things, is now calling on the global elite to take up the mantle of nuclear power.
From Davos, Stone attacked the global Advanced Climate Brigade for “derailing” the use of nuclear energy.
Director Oliver Stone speaks about his latest documentary “Nuclear Now!” at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The film promotes the use of nuclear energy as a viable green option
“We had the solution [nuclear power]… and the environmental movement, to be honest, just derailed it,” he told CNBC.
“I think the environmental movement has done a lot of good, a lot of good. [I’m] don’t knock it, but it was wrong on this one important thing. It was wrong,” he added.
“And what they did was so destructive because by now we would have built 10,000 nuclear reactors around the world and we would have set an example like France set for us, but no one … followed France or Sweden for that matter. ‘
For years, France and Sweden have been big proponents of nuclear power, which accounts for about a third of the country’s electricity supply.
There are currently 92 nuclear reactors and 53 nuclear power plants in the United States, providing electricity to tens of millions of homes and supporting local communities.
Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is one of the many US progressives who have taken a stand against nuclear energy.
The Representative’s signature law – The Green New Deal – includes no nuclear power and proposes phasing out nuclear power “as soon as possible.” And a documentary in which AOC pushed the bill flopped in its opening weekend last month, taking just $9,667.
Stone now publicly asserts that nuclear power has been falsely maligned as too dangerous to become an integral part of the energy matrix.
But the reality, Stone argues, is that nuclear power is abundant, clean, and safe. In addition, the ongoing climate crisis — causing hurricanes to intensify, fires to rage and droughts to persist — is putting humanity in a position too dire to reject the obvious solution, nuclear power.
The documentary, which follows the 2021 releases of several JFK-centric projects directed by Stone, is based on the book “A Bright Future” by Joshua S. Goldstein and Staffan A. Qvist.
Stone’s well-reviewed film is urging the public to reconsider nuclear energy, which he says has been unfairly criticized by the environmental movement over the years
Stone accused the modern environmental movement of having “wrong” its views on nuclear energy. Factions in the progressive movement say the deployment of nuclear power options will generate significant amounts of hazardous waste
Although nuclear power appears to have captured the hearts and minds of some European nations, other major activist factions are still reluctant to jump on board.
Greenpeace’s position is that nuclear power is “complex and enormously expensive to build”.
“It also creates huge amounts of hazardous waste,” claiming that “renewable energy is cheaper and can be installed quickly.”
Although the International Energy Agency takes a different stance, arguing that “historically, nuclear power has been one of the largest contributors to carbon-free electricity worldwide”.
“While it faces significant challenges in some countries, it has significant potential to help decarbonize the energy sector.”
Investing in nuclear power is a must, says Stone, as the reality of increasingly severe weather events around the world has become a plague on humanity
The film argues that middle- and upper-middle-class virtues that signal environmental efforts, like driving electric cars and recycling, won’t really make a difference. But the adoption of nuclear power will
Stone’s latest film received positive reviews. Critics hailed the documentary as “extremely compelling” and a must-see film.
Among other things, the film argues that middle- and upper-class virtues that signal environmental efforts, like driving electric cars and recycling, will not make a difference. But the introduction of nuclear energy will and should be a position that can easily be thwarted.
Despite his aggressive socially conscious stance in this century, Stone’s most famous and celebrated works are iconic American films like Platoon, Wall Street, and Born on the Fourth of July.