It must feel like treason to a lot of environmentalists to see some of the more prominent veterans of their movement coming out and saying that nuclear energy is, for the time being, the last, best hope for the environment. This wouldn't even be controversial if environmentalism wasn't a religion for many of its members. However, unlike real religions, which offer salvation or sensual pleasures, the best that environmentalism can offer is a clean wildlife preserve and a smug sense of self-satisfaction. Neither of those happen to be the sort of thing that causes one to die for one's beliefs or to take truly principled stands such as riding a bicycle 30 miles each way to work everday in order to not increase CO2 levels.
Nuclear energy is a marvelous thing for the environment. It's powerful, it's clean and it is a viable replacement for fossile fuels for America's energy needs. A critical reaction that devastates the environment is possible, but then the future of nuclear technology is with nuclear fusion power which cannot go chernobyl when the excrement hits the oscillating device. It's the best that can be hoped for because no one is going to tolerate major energy tax increases, and the public will most certainly go ballistic if the environmentalists try to revert us back to the 17th or 18th century's energy use levels. Simply put, no nuclear power, no green agenda.
Others:
it would be nice, for once, to see the libtards (thanks, Bane) lose one of their sacred cows to common sense and reason...however, I will believe it when I see it...at least the leaders (and likely the rank and file) of the environmental facsists are seriously mentally deranged people, judging from their statements and interviews...here is a pretty good paper entitled "The Fascism of Environmentalism," in which a decisive and comprehensive case is made against this idiotic "religion":
http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/Anti-Green.pdf
The ones I am truly afraid of are the ones who are scientists and engineers and thus ought to know better. My grandfather is a good example of a typical environmentally-inclined person. He cannot understand how technology is produced. To him, rich corporations can easily afford to do research and development with the strict crap from the Kyoto Protocol imposed upon them. I've tried to explain that pure R&D is a discressionary expense that comes after every other bill has been paid, but he still doesn't grasp it and yet he's a very intelligent philosophy professor emeritus. It all stems from the fact that for most people, technology just comes out of nowhere. Vox said that a lot of women regard money as though it magically appears, well I think the same is true of technology, only an even broader segment of society is totally ignorant of how it is developed.
My solution is simple. The states ought to provide interest-free loans that are not subject to bankrupcy declarations to energy providers to upgrade their fossile fuel powerplants to nuclear power. If this country could build another few dozen nuclear powerplants, the cost of gas would probably not only go down, but so would our C02 levels as well.
nuclear power should be the norm, I agree...this country is so backwards...the politicians kowtow to minorities, foreign interests and kooks like environmentalists instead of doing what is best for the majority of US citizens...it is absolutely insane...
Fortunately a variety of perspectives, make for a better debate.
Cheers