Climate Change: Experts Debate Nuclear Solution

Professor Joshua Goldstein and environmental advocate Stephen Lewis visited Brunswick on Thursday, October 24, to debate and present potential solutions to the controversial issue of climate change across the world.  

 

Goldstein is an award-winning scholar of international relations who has written a new book, A Bright Future: How Some Countries Have Solved Climate Change and the Rest Can Follow, about international responses to climate change, especially Sweden’s success in rapid decarbonization using nuclear power. 

 

Goldstein is Professor Emeritus of International Relations, American University (Washington, D.C.), and Research Scholar, University of Massachusetts (Amherst). 

 

Lewis, who worked for 13 years on Connecticut General’s Assembly as an administrator on the public health committee, is a member of the Sierra Club of Connecticut and serves on its legislative committee. Currently, he is the vice president of strategic initiatives at UnitedHealthcare.

 

Goldstein and Lewis presented divergent viewpoints on strategies for combatting climate change — especially with respect to nuclear power and its potential as a step forward in the solution. 

 

Speakers’ closing remarks followed a short, debate-style Q & A.

 

“When it comes to global warming and climate change,” Lewis said, “we believe that renewable energies and technologies are the answer and will do the lion’s share of the work toward the solution.”

 

“Those ‘feel-good’ strategies aren’t adding up,” countered Goldstein. “We need to actually solve the problem and we need solutions that work globally. 

 

“Nuclear power is something you can build a system around. We can’t be afraid of it.”