There’s an excellent post by Gary Becker recommending the use of nuclear power. Gary focuses on the safery record of nuclear power, and how new technologies are making nuclear plants less expensive than they used to be.
When I previously endorsed nuclear power, I emphasized the fact that our current reliance on natural gas fired electric plants is stupid. I think this is an extremely important issue that Gary Becker hasn’t properly addressed.
When we (the U.S. and Canada) use up our domestic supplies of natural gas, it will have to be imported. Natural gas is expensive and dangerous to transport. A liquefied natural gas explosion is a far more likely possibility than a nuclear plant melting down and killing people.
Furthermore, natural gas is just too valuable for heating buildings to waste our limited supply on generating electricity when electricity can be generated less expensively using uranium or coal.
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