Ministers to press on with new nuclear power stations

Despite the fact that, we are told, ministers are to press on with new nuclear power stations, we can hope that the coalition of the unwilling are enough: "A group of Labour, Lib Dem and SNP MPs warn in a letter published in today's Guardian that 'we should not be politically panicked into accepting a technology that poses a continuing risk in terms of weapons proliferation and terrorism, produces a toxic waste for which no management solution is agreed, benefits from hidden subsidies and tends to undermine the prospects of renewable energy and efforts to increase efficiency'. The letter, also signed by Friends of the Earth, said it was a 'myth' that the lights would go out or that Britain would be far less dependent on gas imports without nuclear."
Apparently the figure in polls in the country show an interesting split. Overall it's 49% to 44% against nuke power. However if you separate out the genders, those in favour among men come out as 62% whereas among women it's 27%. Now why is that? Are men more 'macho' (raised knuckles in the air and grunt 'hunh, hunh') about technological fixes and the industrial scale solution? Are women more connected to the waste problem and empathise with the potential suffering? Can I be any more stereotyped? Could the stereotypes be true?

Anyway, a couple of other things to bear in mind. One is that the government have been forced by a Greenpeace legal challenge, to hold more public enquiry on the matter. The second is the proposed change in planning regulations. The sweetener for the latter is that ordinary people could find it easier to make changes to their houses and interestingly the sales pitch mentions solar panels and wind turbines (pause for raised eyebrow and clearing of throat). On the downside it would cut the time for nuke power stations, airport extra runways and more road to be proposed and then built. Hmmmm.
Thinking of emigrating to Ireland.
In relation to the cited article on planning regs, one commenter (Brian Drury, we salute you) wrote very wittily:

“someone in the audience should blow a raspberry and shout "hypocrite".”
And then they will be arrested, fingerprinted, DNA profiled and charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
New Labour: Tough on freedom - tough on the causes of freedom.

You know, I fear he may be right.