Germany’s ‘make-or-break’ energy experiment

The country’s plan to eliminate nuclear power complicates efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.

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The reactor building at the nuclear power plant near Neckarwestheim. The Neckarwestheim I reactor is among seven nuclear power reactors built before 1980 that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel has chosen to shut down for three months for a heightened safety and security review following the disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan. Merkel is fending off criticism for the move, which represents a radical reversal of her government's previous policy, citing new circumstances due to the Fukushima meltdown. Nuclear power has long been a highly charged, controversial topic in Germany, and opponents are seizing on the new political climate to push for a rapid abandonment of nuclear energy.

Thomas Niedermueller / GETTY IMAGES

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