To the Point
A 'Go Slow' for US Nuclear Energy?
Global warming was the best news for the nuclear power industry since Three Mile Island . New reactors were planned in the US for the first time in decades. But the growing radiation threat from Japan's disaster has raised disturbing questions about both safety and economics.
Global warming was the best news for the nuclear power industry since Three Mile Island. New reactors were planned in the US for the first time in decades. But the growing radiation threat from Japan's disaster has raised disturbing questions about both safety and economics. President Obama has called for a safety review of existing nuclear plants, but he still plans new ones as part of America's "green energy" future. More frightened Americans are saying, "Not in my back yard," and investors are not interested unless public money is promised to pay for possible accidents. Is nuclear viable to help slow the pace of climate change? Can alternatives expand fast enough to replace it? How safe are the plants we have now?