For decades, nuclear power has been used like a pejorative by people fearing nuclear war and bad Jane Fonda movies. But some organizations, like NAM, want to increase U.S. nuclear energy capacity. Now this author is of course aware that a construction lobbying group would love to construct, well, anything, but during these uncertain times when terms like "energy crisis" are tossed around, it wouldn't hurt to expand our ability to create, you know, energy. The U.S. hasn't built a private nuclear power plant in 30 years. We currently have 104 commercial stations operating throughout the country, contributing about 20% of the country's electricity. And yet with all the clamoring for energy sources, we still avoid this one. Why? Well, those who oppose nuclear power have done a good job of scaring people into think power stations are ticking time bombs. Pop culture staples such as "The Simpsons" have running gags about poorly run nuclear stations that mutate fish and squirrels. Movies like "The China Syndrome" and "Special Bulletin" scaring people into thinking that "something will go wrong!" In their defense, we have indeed had some scares. Here in the U.S., the Three-Mile Island disaster certainly makes one pause, and since the Soviets always wanted to be bigger and better, they had to go and screw up Chernobyl. So I am not unaware of the concerns. But 30 years later, Three-Mile Island is still operating. And no one died there. So I say, let's make some more nuclear power plants. We Americans know how to make them correctly. We don't have to reinvent the wheel here, we can use what's worked before. –Stephen Payne, Editor, Oil and Gas Investor This Week; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; spayne@hartenergy.com
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