The Nuclear Candidate

This is the second time this year that I find myself writing about nuclear energy. I was almost shocked, this morning to read about McCain’s goal to build 45 new Nuclear Reactors by 2030. I was surprised and mildly pleased for a couple of reasons. First, I was pleased to see one of the candidates say something that wasn’t just tired old fluffy rhetoric. One could argue that McCain’s tentative date to have the troops home was also concrete. But I tend to discount that goal a bit, since the date coincides with re-election. Wow, nuclear energy. Could it be that we are finally ready to get over the fear? I was also pleased to see this announcement purely for the reason that it clearly sets him apart from the Bushian ideology. I don’t think that Bush avoided nuclear energy just because he couldn’t pronounce the word nuclear. The fact that Bush is considering repealing the off-shore drilling ban is pretty clear evidence that his foresight (not just with the energy crisis) is limited by the wall of the box that he refuses to think outside of. One of my largest fears of seeing McCain elected was that we would have 8 more years of the Busharchy. I still think that McCain is a hothead and a toughguy. I’m not sure if I could ever vote for him. But I have to admit that this position he has taken is very gutsy and progressive, and I can respect that. I would love to see some statistics showing how much of the current fossil fuel burning plants would be displaced by the 45 (eventually 100) nuclear plants that McCain is suggesting. Here is a pretty cool article that recounts the Three Mile Island meltdown and covers nuclear energy, generally.