Should we be taking a serious second look at Nuclear Energy?

There have always been those – even after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl – who have been staunch supporters. But the country hasn’t built a new nuclear plant in three decades – among other reasons, nobody would finance them.

With climate change the biggest potential disaster facing humanity, there are even environmentalists who now think nuclear power is actually a lower risk. The Obama administration seems to be on board – the recent stimulus package included billions of dollars in direct and indirect subsidies for the industry.

Take a look at this debate from TED, in which Stewart Brand and Mark Z. Jacobson go at it, and then tell us what you think.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/UK8ccWSZkic&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0][social_buttons]

Well? Is nuclear power the work of the devil? Or is this a case of “The Devil we know is better than the Devil we can barely imagine”?

And… did this debate influence your thinking?

About Stewart Brand – Since the counterculture Sixties, Stewart Brand has been a critical thinker and innovator who helped lay the foundations of our internetworked world. Full bio and more links

About Mark Z. Jacobson – At Stanford, Mark Z. Jacobson uses numerical models to study the effects of energy systems and vehicles on climate and air pollution, and to analyze renewable energy resources. Full bio and more links