Photo Gallery The Nuclear Option
This 1977 photo shows the then-governor of Lower Saxony, Ernst Albrecht, pointing out the location of Gorleben on the map. The state government chose Gorleben as a potential site for a long-term nuclear waste storage site in 1977.
Then-Environment Minister Angela Merkel is seen at Gorleben in this 1995 photo. Now Merkel is chancellor and says she sees no need to explore alternative storage sites.
Another former environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, is now head of the center-left Social Democrats. He is set to clash with Merkel over the issue of nuclear waste.
Experts are divided over the merits of the Gorleben salt dome as a repository for nuclear waste.
Nuclear energy was the focus of heated protests in Germany in the 1980s and 1990s. This 1980 photo shows police clearing an activists' camp near Gorleben.
Andreas Graf von Bernstorff is a local landowner who is opposed to the Gorleben plans.
