Is Nuclear Energy the Solution?

On October 29th, 2009, one of us, (MHS) attended a lecture on “Nuclear Responsibility” on the University of California, San Diego campus. The speaker was Rochelle Becker, Executive Director of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility. The information presented was both revealing and upsetting and is documented extensively in a pamphlet entitled: “Why a Future for the Nuclear Industry Is Risky.” These sources emphasized the problems that exist, especially in the USA. This editorial is based on these sources. We should all know that: first, investments in nuclear power are risky as indicated by the fact that Wall Street has chosen to stay clear; second, nuclear power plants are stated terrorist targets and carry serious risks of their own; third, nuclear power will not reduce our dependencies on foreign energy as is sometimes claimed; fourth, nuclear-generated electricity does not compare favorably with electricity derived from either the combustion of fossil fuels or renewable sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, wave, and tide, and finally, there is currently no good means of nuclear waste disposal, hence more environmental pollution.