5 Conclusion

Coming back to the general question of ‘Do we need nuclear energy?’, how far has looking at the evidence helped to reinforce your views, helped to change them or helped you to make up your mind on the issue? Considering these questions will enable you to consider the interplay of evidence and values, and the way that your intuitive feelings about an issue meld with reasoned argument. These considerations lead us on to questions that go beyond ‘Do we need nuclear energy?’ to the issue of ‘Should we develop nuclear energy?’ This raises ethical issues and you should find that your participation in the nuclear debate in this exercise will have helped to prepare you for a broader reflection on the ethical issues surrounding nuclear energy.