Why insist on nuclear power over olives?

“In the event that olive growing activities and other investment fields overlap, other investments and natural resources should be evaluated in terms of whether or not the olive grove is less beneficial than other possible activities.”

This is the Energy Ministry’s justification for the bill it has just prepared, which has been dubbed a “death sentence for olive groves.” 

The meaning of “other activities that might overlap with olive growing activities” is very well known to be nuclear power plants. It is also very well known that the bill to be passed for nuclear power plants will first open the way for mines over olive groves, then will come housing complexes and the construction of shopping malls.

Isn’t this a bit weird?

While our neighbor, Greece, is importing tons of olive pits from us for heating purposes, we will be sacrificing olive trees to erect nuclear power plants that developed countries are abandoning one by one, and also extracting poor-quality coal.

The olive tree has found its way into all holy books, and has been a crown for emperors. It is described as the oldest tree in the world by several sources.

Those who felled olive trees were punished with death 3,000 years ago in Greece. It is a tree that is the symbol of peace, the symbol of fertility; a tree that describes life, healthy living, beauty; a tree that is also called “immortal.” 

Not long ago, only a few years ago, we adopted a target to become the second biggest olive producer in the world. Now, how can there be an explanation for sacrificing our olive trees for the sake of nuclear energy and for the sake of coal?

The European Union, the door that we have been...