Germany says auf Wiedersehen to nuke power

"For a people as addicted to order as the Germans, this country is floundering in uncertainty. The economy has sputtered to a post-World War II record 5 million unemployed. Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's exhausted left-of-center coalition is close to coughing up the fall elections to conservatives. And soccer fans aren't even sure if their team can defend the country's pride when it hosts the World Cup next summer.

"About the only thing most Germans are sure about right now is the dire need to abandon nuclear power, evidenced by the 'Switch Off and Rethink' mantra stamped on billboards and in newspapers, buzzing from television sets, and crossing people's lips throughout the nation. And tough policies enacted by the red-green government have laid an incredible groundwork for that move -- not just for Europe's wealthiest nation to become nuclear-free in the next 15 years, but for renewable-energy suppliers to double their output to provide one-fifth of Germany's power within the same period. By mid-century, the country expects to derive more than half of its power from renewables."
Grist