Alexander C. Kaufman
@kaufman
People forget because he’s mostly remembered for campaigning on banning bomb testing, but Adlai Stevenson wanted the U.S. to embark on a giant public construction program to build a bunch of nuclear reactors. It was billed as a series of atomic TVA-like megaprojects — basically what France eventually did successfully. When Eisenhower failed to get behind it, Stevenson (correctly) predicted Atoms for Peace was doomed. Imagine the America we’d be living in now if a massive carbon-free baseload grid was as indelible a part of our infrastructure as the interstate highway system. Imagine how differently the 1970s oil embargo might have gone.
1 reply
19 recasts
36 reactions
Gary Michael
@caliaba
wow, never knew that about Stevenson! imagine the changes if we had gone that route. maybe more energy independence today 🤔
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
