HOW I SEE IT: Nuclear energy is America's best option

Energy experts and TV commercials lead one to believe the solution to our energy crisis is clean coal, natural gas, wind turbines, solar cells, geothermal wells, hydroelectric dams or some revolutionary new energy source.

All of the safe locations for hydroelectric dams have been used, safe locations for geothermal wells are very scarce and difficult to develop, and there is no such thing as “clean coal.”

The truth is, unless we take drastic action, coal and oil will run out in the next 75 to 100 years. Battery-powered cars are not the answer; 60 percent of our electricity is produced from coal. To charge the batteries, we will just burn more coal. The cost of fossil fuels will eventually bankrupt our nation if Congress and President Obama don’t do it first.

We need energy when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. We need a constant, reliable energy source 24 hours per day, every day, for centuries. At this time, there is only one form of energy on Earth that meets this requirement — nuclear energy. If you are “nuclearphobic,” get over it. Even Dr. Patrick Moore, the founder of Greenpeace, agrees that nuclear power is our only long-term hope for abundant, cheap, reliable energy.

Twenty percent of all of our energy now comes from nuclear power. The U.S. has been operating nuclear-powered submarines for about 60 years without a fatal nuclear accident.

If you do not like nuclear power, then consider this: Hundreds of people are killed annually mining coal — more than have ever been killed through the proper peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The newest nuclear reactors are 99.5% efficient, are pollution-free and can be fully developed and ready for installation within five years. These new reactors are called “integral fast reactors.”

IFRs will use for fuel the 65,000 tons of nuclear waste we now store in 125 locations throughout the U.S. This is the nuclear waste our government is now trying to bury in a mountain. Isn’t that just like government, trying to find a place to bury perfectly good fuel?

The reactors used by electrical power companies today are only 2 to 5% efficient; that is why they produce so much radioactive waste. The IFR reactor design prevents the reactors from overheating; if they get too hot, the design of the fuel will cause them to automatically shut down. The IFR has the ability to reprocess its own fuel; therefore, it never has to be refueled, and these facts greatly reduce the danger of nuclear proliferation.

IFRs do not require hundreds of acres of water for cooling — such as Lake Anna, for example. Therefore, they are much cheaper to build. The IFR coolant is a self-contained vessel of liquid lead.

IFRs do not need water to operate; instead, they can use super-critical gases as the operating fluid rather than steam.

Using IFRs, we have enough nuclear waste and enough processed uranium already in inventory to provide all of the energy the U.S. will need for the next 1,000 years!

The bad news is, the Obama administration isn’t even considering continuing development of nuclear power.