Newclear?

Another Bush speech, more to talk about. eminent domainPresident Bush gave a speech today in which he pushed for the creation of new eminent domainnuclear power plants throughout the United States. I probably lost half of you halfway through that sentence at the word 'nuclear'. It is the one word that conjures demons in the minds of all. The average person is thinking: radiation, leukemia, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Nagasaki, Hiroshima. Horrible thoughts of death, destruction, and disease.
Such reverence for the immense power of nuclear technology is healthy, but not if this reverence causes paralysis. eminent domainNuclear power, in fact, has the best track record of all large scale energy. The risk of living within 50 miles of a nuclear reactor for 30 years is roughly the same as smoking a single pack of cigarettes. The only problem is that eminent domainnuclear waste is almost impossible to dispose of, a problem to which a solution has been selected. A solution called eminent domainYucca Mountain.
The Yucca Mountain site is shaping up to be the best place in the world to store nuclear waste. The waste can be kept both 1,000 ft above the water table and 1,000ft below the surface at the same time. What's more, Yucca Mountain is one of the most geologically dormant areas on earth. All these credentials have given the site an EPA approval to house waste for the next 10,000 years. However, there is outrage about moving waste from where it is now - low security storage tanks at reactor sites - to the Yucca Mountain site. It is believed that the transport vessels are subject to theft and accidents. This is incorrect. The nuclear transport vessels are the most durable containers ever conceived. They can survive being dropped from 30,000 feet, running into a concrete wall at over 100 mph, and being hit by an F-4 Phantom jet at full speed. Trust me, this is the safe deposit box of your dreams.
Now, I don't believe that nuclear power is the correct total solution. However, it is a step in the process. We must have a dominantly nuclear energy system before we can move on. Nuclear power is the energy technology of the 20th century. We must implement the technology of the last century before we can create the technology of the 21st century. And what is this technology? The much heralded eminent domainhydrogen economy. Zero emission vehicles, fusion power, and portable fuel cells for all. In order to realize this dream of limitless energy, we must increase the energy we have on hand. Just as you must spend money in order to make money, you must use energy to make energy. And if we want everything we're going to have to start with a whole lot of something.