surfing around the perportedly reality-based blogs in the wake of the earthquake in japan and subsequent nuclear catastrophy, i've been struck by the ignorance and misunderstanding polluting those sites. i really do think it's a weakness of many 'liberals' or 'progressives' to embody the nerdgasm view of technology and believe that there's an easy answer right around the corner. the issues with nuclear power have been hidden in plain sight for three generations, and these folks should know better. perhaps they're being blinded by all the time they spent playing star trek role playing games before they discovered the internet.
for the record, the greenhouse emisisons for nuclear power are high. the uranium has to be mined, after all. then it has to be turned into fuel. spent fuel will always be a problem, unless you happen to be in the business of building nuclear weapons.
how much of our 20% dependence on nuclear power today could we eliminate with conservation and efficiency? as soon as we can turn energy-star appliances and triple pane windows into atomic bombs, there will be a cabinet post demanding them.
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