Atomic Dreams

The inside story of how nuclear energy—long considered scary, controversial, and even apocalyptic—has become the hot topic of the climate debate, and perhaps a vital power source of the future

On June 21, 2016, Pacific Gas & Electric Company announced a plan to shutter California’s last nuclear power plant, Diablo Canyon, in 2025. The plan was hailed by environmental groups and politicians around the country. Then, in 2022, the state’s Democratic establishment suddenly reversed the decision, and in 2024 the Biden-Harris administration awarded the plant $1.1 billion in credits to extend its life. What happened in between?

In Atomic Dreams, journalist and lifelong environmentalist Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow unearths the surprising answers—and the deep-seated conflicts behind them. She follows the fascinating and lively cast of characters who are immersed in the fight over Diablo Canyon and nuclear energy, among them a world-renowned climate scientist, a fashion model turned “nuclear influencer,” and two radically opposed groups of mothers, both fiercely advocating for the kind of planet they want their children to inherit. And she chronicles how nuclear power has morphed from the stuff of cinematic nightmares—associated with world-ending weapons and terrifying meltdowns—to a rare issue with strong bipartisan support.

Tuhus-Dubrow takes readers to nuclear plants and research facilities, to the halls of Congress and into the streets with activists as she explores the big questions wrapped up in the nuclear debate: questions about risk and responsibility, about nature and technology, about whether humans should be humble caretakers of the Earth or audacious innovators. She explores how these issues affect real people’s lives, and personally grapples with the viability of this controversial energy source. Can the power of the atom be freed from its historical baggage and reinvented? Could something that once threatened to doom us now hold the potential to save us?

• “This moment calls out for this book. Atomic Dreams is an investigation of great courage, heart, and nuance into the energy debate that has riven the environmental movement and may define our future. An essential work for anyone who wishes to understand how we got here and where we’re going.”
   
  Nathaniel Rich, author of Losing Earth and Second Nature
• “Far more than a book about the science of electrons and uranium. This is a deeply human exploration into one of the most important issues of the century: not just how we produce energy, but what role we play in shaping the future for those who come after us. Filled with interesting — and often surprising — characters, Atomic Dreams brings this debate to life.”
  Hannah Ritchie, author of Not the End of the World
• “Atomic Dreams is about so much more than nuclear power. It’s a fascinating tale filled with activists and polemicists, converts and curmudgeons, who all debate, with each other and themselves, the future of energy. Tuhus-Dubrow asks a very relevant question: Can we build our way out of this climate catastrophe? The answers she arrives at are both surprising and revelatory.”
  Russell Gold, author of Superpower and The Boom
• “A fascinating, nuanced look at one of the most important and contentious issues in the climate fight—and essential reading whether you regard nuclear energy as a salvation or a scourge.”
  Jake Bittle, author of The Great Displacement
• “Atomic Dreams expertly tracks the resurgence of nuclear energy, weaving together voices of advocates and critics into a nuanced account of this controversial energy source. To understand the current debate about nuclear, start here."
   
  Kate Crawford, author of Atlas of AI
• “Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow has gifted us an enjoyable, intriguing, and evenhanded account of America's reappraisal of nuclear power, a battle of ideas at the nexus of science, politics, and environmentalism. Atomic Dreams will be required reading for anyone seeking to understand electricity in the time of climate change.”
  Henry Grabar, author of Paved Paradise
• “In this immensely readable yet nuanced exploration of the changing futures of nuclear power in the United States, Tuhus-Dubrow gives us nuclear power as both an idea and a technology in the midst of immense cultural flux. An elegant treatment of this divisive power source, Atomic Dreams is at once historical and prescient, making us feel the heat and urgency to do something energetic to abate the effects of climate change, while showing how a (modestly) pro-nuclear present is still bound to its contentious past. Ever attentive the people nuclear has displaced and those who have long struggled against it, Atomic Dreams stays true to its title, as a quirky, but also trustworthy band of nuclear enthusiasts (and industries) find in this power, something to champion.”
  Gretchen Bakke, author of The Grid