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["Marie McHarry" <mmcharry AT dtnspeed.net>]

<<I don't have the latest stats, but the last time I read about nuclear 
France, it was generating about eighty percent of its electricity with 
nuclear power. >>

I'm definitely not a knee-jerk anything in my response to nuclear power, but
I spent several lucrative years working on editing siting reports and
licenses for low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities (in two state,
Illinois and North Caroline). No single disposal site has been opened in
these two states, or anywhere else, for that matter. The high-level Yucca
Mountain site seems to be in mortal trouble also (though so far it hasn't
been outright strangled).

I suppose it will take the lights going out before the public quits fighting
nuclear plants and waste disposal. In the meantime, I believe -- having
moved on to other things, I'm not as up to date as I once was -- that the
Japanese and the French are working on the second, or maybe third, nuclear
generators. So as with many technological and scientific advances, we're
being left in the dust.

As I understand it, the Chernoybl plant was much less safe than the reactors
that are currently running, even in this country. I'm definitely not for
ruling the nuclear option out, but OTOH, I'm not for subsidizing it
mindlessly either. What the country really needs is a real energy program,
but if that happens in my lifetime, I'll be surprised.

Marie