Well, maybe not entirely against nuclear power, but in a rather surprising editorial, the paper noted:
Suddenly, nuclear doesn’t seem so safe. The truth is that it never has been. As we’re learning from Japan, it’s impossible to ensure full stability with the nuclear energy production process. Japan was known for being extraordinarily cautious with its nuclear energy plants and safety procedures, and disaster still struck. All that means is that there are too many contingencies and too many opportunities for things to go wrong.
Damn. I wish we’d had that sort of editorial support when we were fighting PG&E over Diablo Canyon. That plant was a serious mistake, is still a serious mistake and ought to be shut down. But in the long, long years of protests against the plant’s construction, licensing and operations, I don’t remember the Chronicle ever saying that nuclear power “has never been safe.” We were up against the pro-PG&E press as much as we were up against PG&E.
So now the paper has figured out that boiling water with a nuclear fission reaction to generate electricity is a bad idea. Now we need the Chron to come out in strong opposition to the relicensing of Diablo Canyon and start calling for the plant to be decomissioned. Starting now.