McGovern on how China is Embracing Nuclear Power, so should the U.S.

Uranium (Nuclear Minerals) / Nuclear Power - Economics, Design, & Industry

Date posted: 12/30/14

James McGovern reports that for years, the United States has dominated the development of nuclear power technology. But, now, China is catching up and may overtake us soon. This is actually good news, since China is replacing soot-belching coal plants with emission-free nuclear power and other clean-energy sources. The bad news is that the United States is letting nuclear power slip away and no one in government, i.e. the Obama Administration, is doing anything to prevent it. Nuclear power is crucial in the battle against global warming. It provides nearly two-thirds of the zero-carbon energy in the United States. If many more existing nuclear plants are closed prematurely, five plants were shut down in 2014, the United States will not be able to meet its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2050. In the first six months of this year, carbon emissions actually rose 3 percent, according to the Energy Information Administration, and increased 2.5 percent in 2013. That is not bad news, this is alarming. We cannot prudently postpone dealing with the carbon problem. Carbon abatement studies from Princeton University, Columbia University and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change have reached essentially the same conclusion: A clear path toward meeting the challenge of greenhouse-gas reduction relies in part on greater use of clean energy sources, including nuclear power. The editor wonders how much of the wind-solar energy financial handouts, i.e. government subsidies, is politically motivated without detailed technological or economical considerations. Many Liberals and Democrats are anti-nuclear - to some measure because many Republicans see the merit in using more nuclear - while the Left seem to want the experimentation with solar and wind to continue even if it makes no sense economically based on current studies that will soon be hitting media.