I was reading through a stack of Imprimis reprints this morning, and found a lucid and motivated argument from William Tucker on the need for more nuclear energy (what he prefers to call “terrestrial energy”). He points out the obvious negative impact coal has on the environment (largest CO2 source) and humans (purported to cause 30,000 deaths in the US annually from lung disease), and he need not remind us of the economic consequences of being “over a barrel” when it comes to our dependence on foreign oil. Nuclear energy needs to return and stay. Environmental hype that paints nuclear energy as dangerous must be seen as the propaganda it is and we must begin to build many new nuclear power plants in the United States. Developing the expertise and manufacturing ability will bring with it many new jobs and perhaps we will live long enough to see fossil fuels be considered an “alternative energy” source. I can’t tell you how many time I argued this, or wanted to make it a topic of casual discussion at IEEE or APS Nuclear events throughout the 1990s, only to have people say it would never happen. Anyhow, it’s about time to stop talking and start building.

The Case for Terrestrial (a.k.a. Nuclear) Energy, by William Tucker

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