So... in the State of The Union Address, George W. Bush announced that the United States has an "oil addiction," and that we need to do something about it. I couldn't agree more. But I don't think we should be wasting our time with solar, hydroelectric, wind, or "zero-emission" coal. All of those are messy, expensive, and ugly. I want nukes. Interestingly enough, so does Iran. Whether or not they have a weapons program in mind, I don't want to see them developing nuclear power while Americans sit here wringing our hands and boo-hooing over how terribly long the waste lasts. Wouldn't we feel silly 20 years from now if we had to buy safe, clean nuclear technology from the same people we're buying oil from today? THAT would be dumb. But that's where we're headed unless we turn things around in a hurry. We haven't been researching the stuff we need to -- like how to take that waste that stays "hot" for thousands of years, and put it in a reactor that uses it to generate power... for thousands of years. That's the solution to all the waste transport problems, folks -- just keep using the stuff until it's cold enough to eat. Sadly, we got scared of nukes too early in the game, and somebody banned researching the reprocessing of waste... THIRTY YEARS AGO. That's thirty years down the tubes. We've had plenty of oil-related crises since then. I hope that we've learned that lesson. It's scarier to NOT research, develop, and exploit nuclear power. If you want to put solar panels and wind turbines on rooftops as a stopgap measure, that's fine. But don't you DARE develop that placeholder crap at the expense of proper nuclear power. I WILL come over there, and I'll bring friends. Don Quixote had nothing on me and my homeys when it comes to tilting at windmills.
