The Daily Reckoning: Change in Congressional Control Augurs Well for Nuclear Energy

Today at The Daily Reckoning, Justice Litle takes a look at how the change in control of Congress works in nuclear energy's favor:

Whether the public accepts global warming or not, Western governments surely do. The United States was arguably the last holdout, and with Sen. Barbara Boxer (California) succeeding Inhofe as chair of the Environment and Public Works Committee, that domino has clearly fallen. Politics aside, this is another feather in uranium's cap: Regime change in Washington, combined with the urgent need to "do something" about global warming, works in favour of nuclear energy.

The Democrats would no doubt like to rely more on greener solutions, like solar and wind, but those industries are still too small to pack a meaningful wallop. The green technologies of tomorrow hold great promise, but they have not yet demonstrated an ability to perform at scale. Nuclear power has already demonstrated its safety, scalability and 90%-plus reliability, with next-gen technology like pebble bed reactors offering improved maintenance and safety to boot.

Click here for another view from Dan Denning. There's plenty more, including an examination of the geopolitics involved. Read the rest right now.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, Uranium

Comments

Robert Schwartz said…

They may believe in global warming, but they also believe that nuclear power is the root of all evil. They are politicians, not logical thinkers.

January 8, 2007 at 12:50 PM

Anonymous said…

That's a pretty broad brush you're waving around there, Robert.

However I admit there is some truth in the idea that most politicians, of whatever party, are not overly concerned with logic. That leaves it up to those of us who do insist on evidence and causation to make sure at least that the right questions are asked. Like "How much electricity do we need?" and "What technologies can produce that much?" and "How safe are you willing to pay for?". The safety can be measured in TWhr/death or some such units. The LNT model should be ridiculed at every opportunity.

January 8, 2007 at 6:55 PM

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