All the News That's Fit to be Tied

I have an axe to grind, but unlike the New York Times, I freely admit it.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Evolving View on Nuclear Power

So many of my colleagues were surprised to learn about my switch on nuclear energy. They called it an "over reaction to Fukushima" and said there was no reason for alarm. But some elementary research was all it took for me to have a change of heart. I learned a few things: Nuclear energy is as much as 6 times more expensive than oil, coal or natural gas. It is as highly subsidized as solar, wind, ethanol and other forms of alternative energy. Spent nuclear fuel can never be made inert. Any catastrophic event than causes its exposure is an unstoppable disaster. Nothing can live there for a long time. So given the cost and potential for catastrophe my view has evolved. We must use coal and gas for electricity, and oil for all the things it is used for now. Alternatives must be competitive in the market. When they are they will sell, create jobs and push our country forward. Eventually they may replace coal, gas and oil. We'll see. But it's not fair to penalize Americans until alternatives have proved themselves. Turn our fossil fuel energy firms into the giant job creators and money-makers they are. Stop the war on fossil fuel.