The irony about nuclear is that it was shut down largely due to environmental concerns in the 1980s, just as global warming was beginning to be discussed.
It is true that there were environmental concerns ... but the reason why there was a cessation in deployment, was due to the fact that when problems occurred (at 3 Mile Island a pump motor failed to start Or shut down), the control panels did not issue clear, accurate indications which could inform the trained operators what was happening, and how to react (at 3 Mile Island, the reactor core was uncovered by water before the operators figured out what had happened, over a few very expensive hours). In early 80s the plants were only online half the time; by mid/late 80s, the control problem had largely been solved by AEC/NRC, so that by late 80s, the plants were operational more than 90% of the time. Long term storage of high level waste is still somewhat problematic, but significant progress has been made.
