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Who's brilliantly dumb idea was it to have the only two referendums ever also immediately after a disaster? That is what you'd do if you want an overwhelmingly

Who's brilliantly dumb idea was it to have the only two referendums ever also immediately after a disaster? That is what you'd do if you want an overwhelmingly biased referendum playing off people's rash and short term panic based decision making.

sph 2y ago
> Who's brilliantly dumb idea was it to have the only two referendums ever also immediately after a disaster? Well-timed populists.
- kome 2y ago
  > Well-timed populists. not really. The referendum was planned long before Fukushima, but then Fukushima happened at just the right time, reminding voters just in time to vote against nuclear.
  - sph 2y ago
    I stand corrected. They indeed started collecting signatures for the second referendum in spring 2010.
kome 2y ago
The second referendum had been planned long before, and then the Fukushima disaster happened, just a couple of weeks before the vote. A stark reminder that nuclear energy is not safe. By the way, Italy had several nuclear reactors, but they were shut down after the first referendum.
- sph 2y ago
  > A stark reminder that nuclear energy is not safe. For some nebulous and often politically-charged definition of safety.
- Mawr 2y ago
  A bunch of aviation accidents have happened in the last few months. Is flying unsafe? See, your definition of safety seems to actually be "what feels safe to me". As such, it happens to be exactly opposite to what the data tells us.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
erezsh 2y ago
The green energy lobby has everything to gain, and it's been working extra to make it a reality. For example, Greenpeace has been fighting nuclear power all over the world.
- throwaway48476 2y ago
  The anti nuclear lobby was funded by the KGB.
  - weberer 2y ago
    Also the petroleum industry. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2016/07/13/are-fossil-fuel-interests-bankrolling-the-anti-nuclear-energy-movement/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2016/07/13/are-f...
- ZeroGravitas 2y ago
  Greenpeace has the word "peace" in their name because they are anti-war. They claimed civilian nuclear power was part of a weapons program. There's people in this very thread enthusiastic about nuclear power because it will help Italy develop nuclear weapons. So hard to argue that they were wrong.
  - erezsh 2y ago
    > They claimed civilian nuclear power was part of a weapons program They are wrong, but who cares? As long as Russia and China have nuclear weapons, disarming Europe isn't going to help anyone. Not to mention now North Korea and pretty soon Iran will have them too. Arguably, if Germany wasn't so reliant on Russian gas, the war in Ukraine wouldn't have started. The "peace" in Greenpeace is more Orwellian than anything.
Caius-Cosades 2y ago
Because that's how democracy works. Democracy has no need for rational thought, only feelings and ego matters.
mariuolo 2y ago
The first one in 1987 was organised by the Radical Party. The second one was an unfortunate coincidence.

sph 2y ago

> Who's brilliantly dumb idea was it to have the only two referendums ever also immediately after a disaster? Well-timed populists.

kome 2y ago
> Well-timed populists. not really. The referendum was planned long before Fukushima, but then Fukushima happened at just the right time, reminding voters just in time to vote against nuclear.
- sph 2y ago
  I stand corrected. They indeed started collecting signatures for the second referendum in spring 2010.

kome 2y ago

The second referendum had been planned long before, and then the Fukushima disaster happened, just a couple of weeks before the vote. A stark reminder that nuclear energy is not safe. By the way, Italy had several nuclear reactors, but they were shut down after the first referendum.

sph 2y ago
> A stark reminder that nuclear energy is not safe. For some nebulous and often politically-charged definition of safety.
Mawr 2y ago
A bunch of aviation accidents have happened in the last few months. Is flying unsafe? See, your definition of safety seems to actually be "what feels safe to me". As such, it happens to be exactly opposite to what the data tells us.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

erezsh 2y ago

The green energy lobby has everything to gain, and it's been working extra to make it a reality. For example, Greenpeace has been fighting nuclear power all over the world.

throwaway48476 2y ago
The anti nuclear lobby was funded by the KGB.
- weberer 2y ago
  Also the petroleum industry. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2016/07/13/are-fossil-fuel-interests-bankrolling-the-anti-nuclear-energy-movement/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2016/07/13/are-f...
ZeroGravitas 2y ago
Greenpeace has the word "peace" in their name because they are anti-war. They claimed civilian nuclear power was part of a weapons program. There's people in this very thread enthusiastic about nuclear power because it will help Italy develop nuclear weapons. So hard to argue that they were wrong.
- erezsh 2y ago
  > They claimed civilian nuclear power was part of a weapons program They are wrong, but who cares? As long as Russia and China have nuclear weapons, disarming Europe isn't going to help anyone. Not to mention now North Korea and pretty soon Iran will have them too. Arguably, if Germany wasn't so reliant on Russian gas, the war in Ukraine wouldn't have started. The "peace" in Greenpeace is more Orwellian than anything.

Caius-Cosades 2y ago

Because that's how democracy works. Democracy has no need for rational thought, only feelings and ego matters.

mariuolo 2y ago

The first one in 1987 was organised by the Radical Party. The second one was an unfortunate coincidence.