https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-activists-who-embrace-nuclear-power Skip to main content The New Yorker * Newsletter To revisit this article, select My Account, then View saved stories . Close Alert Sign In Search * News * Books & Culture * Fiction & Poetry * Humor & Cartoons * Magazine * Crossword * Video * Podcasts * Archive * Goings On Open Navigation Menu To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Close Alert The New Yorker Annals of Technology The Activists Who Embrace Nuclear Power By Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow February 19, 2021 * * * * * Save this story for later. Illustrated landscape of a Nuclear Plant In the face of climate change, some environmentalists are fighting not to close power plants but to save them.Illustration by Clement Thoby; Source photograph by David Paul Morris / Bloomberg / Getty * * * * * Save this story for later. In 2004, Heather Hoff was working at a clothing store and living with her husband in San Luis Obispo, a small, laid-back city in the Central Coast region of California. A few years earlier, she had earned a B.S. in materials engineering from the nearby California Polytechnic State University. But she'd so far found work only in a series of eclectic entry-level positions--shovelling grapes at a winery, assembling rectal thermometers for cows. She was twenty-four years old and eager to start a career. One of the county's major employers was the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, situated on the coastline outside the city. Jobs there were stable and well-paying. But Diablo Canyon is a nuclear facility--it consists of two reactors, each contained inside a giant concrete dome--and Hoff, like many people, was suspicious of nuclear power. Her mother had been pregnant with her in March, 1979, when the meltdown at a nuclear plant on Three Mile Island, in Pennsylvania, transfixed the nation. Hoff grew up in Arizona, in an unconventional family that lived in a trailer with a composting toilet. She considered herself an environmentalist, and took it for granted that environmentalism and nuclear power were at odds. More:Nuclear PowerClimate ChangeActivismRenewable EnergyCalifornia Power Plants The Daily Sign up for our daily newsletter and get the best of The New Yorker in your in-box. Enter your e-mail address [ ] Sign up Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Read More A snowy landscape of Fukushima. Is Nuclear Power Worth the Risk? The Fukushima disaster sparked a worldwide phaseout of nuclear reactors. As climate change worsens, it may be time to reconsider. By Carolyn Kormann Our energy systems have been slow to change even though rapid climate change represents the ultimate in imaginable... What Stands in the Way of Making the Climate a Priority Inertia and vested interest are the main reasons our energy systems have been slow to change, even though rapid climate change represents the ultimate in imaginable violence, injustice, and chaos. By Bill McKibben Why Noise Pollution Is More Dangerous Than We Think Video Why Noise Pollution Is More Dangerous Than We Think David Owen reports on noise pollution, an intangible phenomenon with serious costs to human health and wildlife. The New Yorker Sections * News * Books & Culture * Fiction & Poetry * Humor & Cartoons * Magazine * Crossword * Video * Podcasts * Archive * Goings On More * Customer Care * Shop The New Yorker * Buy Covers and Cartoons * Conde Nast Store * Digital Access * Newsletters * Jigsaw Puzzle * RSS * Site Map * About * Careers * Contact * F.A.Q. * Media Kit * Press * Accessibility Help * Conde Nast Spotlight * Do Not Sell My Personal Info (c) 2021 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated as of 1/1/21) and Your California Privacy Rights. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Conde Nast. Ad Choices * * * * *