And now for the knee-jerk lefty response. Yes it's time to decommision old ones, no it's not time to build new ones. When we figure out what to do with the radioactive waste, then maybe it'll be time to start building new ones.
Screw that perspective. I'm probably more of a liberal than I am a conservative, and on both grounds I can find a way to refute it. You are very right in classifying that as 'knee-jerk". I'm really critical when it comes to a number of nuclear plants. I'm sure you've seen my regular rantings about Oyster Creek. My problem with that plant isn't that its nuclear, its that its based on 1st generation commercial nuclear technology and has a downright pitiful safety record. We can do better. Much better. Nuclear power can be safe. It can be efficient. And . . . We're probably better off spending the money on getting fusion to work, or giant windmills or something like Scotland's tides project. There are a lot of options out there that aren't going to leave garbage that will be lethal for millenia.
. . . as it stands right now a key piece of the more reasonable ways to produce hydrogen in bulk. I'm not against the development of the energy sources you suggest. Scotland's tides project is great for areas by the coast. Giant windmills are clearly visible in bulk if you have ever driven between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Its still not enough. Not that we don't need these approaches; we need several approaches. Putting nuclear in the closet is just as irresponsible as not pursuing a way to get solar power collected in space down to earth. Only difference is we likely need a space elevator before its possible to build a space solar field. We know how to build safe nuclear plants, we are just not doing it because of knee-jerk reactions. As for the waste... Just be glad that Styrofoam and plastic are not radioactive. When taking into account the quantity of radio active waste generated from nuclear plants, its not the biggest threat to the environment or mankind. If projects like Yucca Mountain were not mismanaged, we would have a solution already. On-site storage is even workable. At it stands right now, as poorly as that may be, we are still doing much better than Russia did. The big mistake would be doing nothing. That's what is happening right now. Nothing. Oh, wait, that's not necessarily true. We are doing one hell of a job fighting wars with both conventional weapons and economics over oil. | 
