Anti-nuclear hysteria becoming a part of mainstream environmentalism did what people think the burning of the library of Alexandria did.
It singlehandedly set us back like 50 years and also ironically did a great deal of damage to the environment as coal was used instead.
Government intervention isn't market forces. Mega corporations such as those in the fossil fuel industry and the state have a symbiotic relationship, and thus it's in the state's interest to regulate new competition out of existence and influence public opinion against it.