Nuclear power: is it a force for good or for evil? Put bluntly, that is the essence of the argument that has preoccupied much of the world for the last 60 years.
核能:是恶魔还是天使？事实上，从60年前开始，这个问题就已成为全世界争论的核心。
To its backers, generating electricity by splitting atoms of uranium is a cheap, clean, safe and secure solution to humanity5s energy needs. To its detractors, however, nuclear power is a costly, dirty, dangerous and destabilizing distraction.
支持核能的人们认为:通过铀原子核裂变来发电，可以经济、清洁、安全而又可靠地解决人类 的能源需求问题。但是对于反对者们来说,核能发电成本巨大、污染环境、十分危险且又很不稳定。
Like all crucial and complex issues, there are inevitably truths-and half-truths-on both sides of the argument. As the world stands on the brink of a major expansion of nuclear power, it has rarely been more important to understand the opportunities and the threats posed by one of the planet’s most controversial technologies.
和所有至关重要而又错综复杂的问题一样，核能的争论也不可避免地出现这样的情况:两边都 有道理，而且还旗鼓相当。由于当今世界正面临着一次核能的大规模 发展，现在我们很有必要了解一下地球上那些最有争议的技术所带 来的机遇和威胁。
Nuclear power was ushered onto the world stage in August 1945，when the United States (US) dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands of people. After that, there could be no doubting that nuclear fission was capable of releasing huge amounts of energy. The only question was whether it could be tamed.
核能首次出现在世界舞台是在1945年8月，当时美国在日本的 广岛和长崎投下了两颗原子弹，造成了成千上万人的死亡。从此之 后,再没人能够对核裂变所产生的巨大能量抱有任何怀疑。而唯一 的问题就是人类能否将其驯服。
It didn’t take scientists long to figure out a way of using atoms for peace, instead of war. In October 1956, the United Kingdom (UK) opened what was billed as the world’s first civil nuclear power station at Calder Hall in northwestern England. Since then, nuclear power has expanded across the globe. According to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there are now 442 nuclear power plants in operation in 30 countries.
科学家们没花多大工夫就找到了和平利用原子能而非将其用 于战争的途径。1956年10月，英国通过议案在英格兰西北部的卡 尔德?霍尔建立核电站，这被认为是世界上第一座民用核电站。从 那时开始，核能就在全球传播开来。根据联合国国际原子能机构 (IAEA)的资料,现在全世界正在运转的核电站共有442座，分布在 30多个国家。
About three quarters of the world’s nuclear plants were built before the accident which ripped apart reactor number four at Chernobyl, showering Europe with radioactivity. Since then, reactor building in many western countries has stagnated.
有3/4的核电站是在切尔诺贝利事故发生之前建起来的。当时 切尔诺贝利核电站的第4号反应堆被毁坏，整个欧洲都遭到了辐射。 从此之后，许多西方国家都停止了反应堆的建设。
Now, however, some countries are intent on reviving nuclear power, with the US, Canada, Russia, France and the UK all contemplating new stations. India, China, Turkey and even Iran are looking to work on or to expand their presently small programs. Perhaps the key factor in putting nuclear power back on the agenda in the West is the looming threat of global warming, partly caused by pollution from burning coal and oil. Nuclear companies have promoted reactors as a “green” source of energy because they do not emit carbon dioxide, one of the pollutants blamed for disrupting the climate.
但是,现在一些国家又开始打算发展核能，美国、加拿大、俄罗 斯、法国和英国都在考虑建设新的核电站。印度、中国、土耳其，甚 至伊朗也都在执行着他们的核能计划，或者将现有的小规模计划 扩大。核能发电之所以重返西方国家的议事日程，其中的关键因素 或许就是全球变暖所造成的迫在眉睫的威胁，而全球变暖在某种程度上是由煤炭和石油的燃烧所引起的。核能产业界将核能描述成一种“绿色”能源，因为它不会 产生被视为扰乱气候元凶的二氧化碳。
Environmentalists, however, point out that the energy used to mine uranium fuel for reactors will generate carbon emissions. Furthermore, they say that such emissions will increase because lower grades of uranium ore will need to be exploited to fuel a global nuclear expansion, though such claims are hard to quantify.
但是，环境学家们指出，在反应堆的燃料——铀的开采过程中，却会导致二氧化碳的排放。更 重要的是,他们还指出由此所产生的二氧化碳将会越来越多，因为全球性的核能发展使得人们不 得不采用含量较低的铀矿石来充数。但是，上述说法很难得到验证。
The nuclear industry has also argued that modem reactor designs are much safer than Chernobyl, with more inbuilt fail-safe systems aimed at minimizing the risk of radioactive leaks. Even in the worst circumstances, the industry says, casualties would be low.
核能产业界还声称当前的反应堆设计要比切尔诺贝利的安全得多,有更多的内嵌故障安全系 统，以最大限度地减小辐射泄漏的危险。业内人士还说，即使在最坏的情况下，所造成的损害也将 是很低的。
This is disputed by the anti-nuclear groups like Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, who accuse the industry of a concerted attempt to downplay the risks and consequences of accidents.
核能产业界的上述言论遭到了反核团体如绿色和平组织和地球之友的强烈批判，他们指责核 能产业界联合起来企图将核事故的风险和后果轻描淡写地掩饰过去。
Even without the risk of nuclear accidents, environmentalists argue that nuclear power has show-stopping drawbacks. Reactors inevitably produce radioactive waste which remains potentially lethal for hundreds of thousands of years, posing a uniquely difficult disposal problem.
环境学家们认为，即使没有核事故的危险，核能也存在着十分明显的缺陷。反应堆不可避免地 会产生放射性废料,这些废料即使在千百年后仍潜藏着致命的危险,于是就造成了一个处理上的 重大难题。
The industry, on the other hand, points out that even if leaks occur thousands of years hence, their consequences wouldn't be disastrous since much of the radioactivity would have decayed away. The volumes of the most dangerous high-level wastes are also relatively small.
另一方面,核能产业界认为，即使在千百年之后发生了核泄漏,也绝不会产生灾难性的后果。 因为大部分辐射性都已经衰变掉了,且危险等级最高的废料数量相对较少。
Nuclear power: friend or foe? History will judge.
核能于人类是敌是友，历史将会作出判断。