Four days after anti-nuclear protests attended by 200,000 people in four German cities, the German government announced Monday plans to close all of its nuclear reactors by 2022.
Since the tragic nuclear events in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima, Germans have taken notice. Many are quitting traditional energy companies and seeking out greener alternatives.
And there's anecdotal evidence that the Merkel government felt political pressure to make a change.
Germany: Nuclear power plants to close by 2022
(BBC) Germany's ruling coalition says it has agreed a date of 2022 for the shutdown of all of its nuclear power plants.
Environment Minister Norbert Rottgen made the announcement after a meeting of the ruling coalition that lasted into the early hours of Monday.
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Mr Rottgen said the seven oldest reactors, which were already subject to a moratorium, and the Kruemmel nuclear power plant, would not resume.
Six others would go offline by 2021 at the latest and the three newest by 2022, he said.
Mr Rottgen said: "It's definite. The latest end for the last three nuclear power plants is 2022. There will be no clause for revision."
According to France24, since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Germany's big four energy companies "are seeing unprecedented numbers of customers leaving," reportedly up to 1500 customers a day leaving to seek out green energy from alternative energy providers.
- France24
In March, 10's of thousands of people protested nuclear power in Germany, in response to the events in Japan. At that time, Merkel was quoted as saying:
We know how safe our plants are and that we do not face a threat from such a serious earthquake or violent tidal wave”
That would seem to have changed, based on Monday's announcment. Appararently, Merkel felt enough political pressure to change her tune. Prior to Monday's announcement, there was much media buzz about her changing her stance on nuclear power (and other issues), as this story from 1 week ago in the BBC chronicles::
In the past week, she has done a hand-brake turn on energy policy.
Her critics said she was bowing to the anti-nuclear opposition in Baden-Wuerttemberg where there are close-run and important elections this weekend.
After her previous policy of extending the lives of nuclear power stations, one German magazine concluded: "It's as if the Pope were suddenly advocating the use of birth control pills."
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Here's how Spiegel puts it: "Germany is witnessing a stunning political about-face". It said she had gone from being "an enthusiastic supporter" of nuclear energy to arguing for it to be phased out as soon as possible.
She made the change most obvious at an election rally in the town of Offenburg in Baden-Wuerttemberg. She arrived to be greeted by anti-nuclear protesters. One simply chanted "Fukushima" repeatedly like a mantra.
Inside the hall, one protester held aloft the Japanese flag.
But according to Monday's announcement, the Merkel government plans to close all German nuclear power plants - from the 7 oldest plants which are considered the most dangerous, and also including 3 modern, state-of-the-art plants.
It makes me a little envious that German people have been able to effectively make this enough of a political issue, to get elected politicians to stand up and take notice.
What do you think the chances are of that kind of protest happening in the U.S. anytime soon, and seeing a headline like this?
Massive nationwide protests call for an immediate end to nuclear energy
28.05.2011 - Demonstrators across Germany are calling for an immediate end to nuclear power after an official commission recommended a decade-long phase out. Some members of the government are concerned about the economic impact.
More than 100,000 demonstrators took to the streets in 20 cities across Germany on Saturday to call for a rapid end to nuclear power, even as a government-sponsored national commission is expected to recommend that Berlin abolish nuclear energy within a decade.
DW-WORLD.DE
That was on Saturday - 2 days before today's announcement.
But as AFP reports (and we already know), the US government is not feeling anything close to the political pressure put upon Merkel's goverment. While the U.S. gets a catfood comission, Germany gets an ethics panel deciding to end nuclear power:
Roettgen said the government had largely followed the recommendations of an "ethics panel" appointed by Merkel after the Fukushima disaster, which said it was possible to end nuclear power in Germany within a decade.
The Fukushima accident has sparked a renewed global debate about the safety of nuclear power, with widely differing opinions.
The United States and Britain have announced plans to build new reactors as a means of reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring a relatively cheap supply of energy.