07/20/07: Um, no.

Nuclear power is an incredible risk. Besides the risks taken mining, transporting, and using radioactive materials, there is the process of long-term storage and the eventuality of large nuclear disasters. Beyond this, and something I'd expect libertarians to pick up on, nuke power isn't economically viable. It requires massive government subsidies for start-up and to keep running. No private insurance company will insure them. The total energy spent on mining, transport, production, construction of the site, and its eventual decommissioning may actually prove more costly than the power generated during its lifespan. Nuke power is also very bad at providing power when there are spikes in energy consumption; its primary use is for baseline energy consumption. The rational choice is a decrease in energy consumption, and a switchover to renewables like wind and solar, decentralized so localities can control their own power production. That, to me, sounds like the most logical choice, something even a libertarian could get behind.

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