Germany Extends Nuke Plant Lifespans

(Berlin, Germany) A decade ago, Germany's Green Party and center-left Social Democrat party (SPD) led a coalition which passed legislation mandating the end of nuclear power plants in the country by 2022. Yesterday, parliament voted to repeal the legislation.

Opponents of nuclear powered suffered a setback in Berlin on Thursday as the federal parliament approved legislation that would effectively repeal Germany's planned withdrawal from atomic power.

Now nuclear plants can stay open an average of 12 years longer than originally planned.

Germany's parliament voted on Thursday to approve the extension of the lifespans on 17 nuclear power plants in the country.

Politicians with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) as well as their coalition partners, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), voted to allow the plants to remain online for an average of an additional 12 years each.

Under the law, Germany's last nuclear power plant is now slated to be closed in 2035.

Environmental groups and leftists are outraged and indicated they will seek an injunction in federal constitutional court.

Meanwhile, Green Party members of parliament wore black clothing with a small green "X," a symbol of the anti-nuclear opposition movement.

As a result, an official with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) said history wasn't served well when members showed up in parliament wearing the same uniform, an obvious reference to uniformed Nazi members during the Weimar Republic era. His statement angered the Greens.