I am certainly encourage to see all the new research and interest in new
energy sources brought on by the high prices.  If we could just keep it
going and drop the prices at the same time that would be great - but would
never happen.  Good energy storage breakthroughs will bring solar and wind
to the forefront eventually.

The USA hasn't built new nuke plants in decades. We still use 3 mile
island style reactors.

I'll take wind, solar, and hydro thanks.

Ah, but they just don't build them like they use to. Gone are the
days of the Chernobyl type reactors and even the 3 Mile Island types. The
new
friendlier Frenchy types just don't seem up to the task of allowing a Homer
Simpson type of screw up to kill thousands like the good old days.
Chernobyl
was a blessing for ridding the countryside of those pesky humans. Nukes
have
their problems, thermal pollution probably being highest on my list, but
they
have incredible advantages and it would be nice to have a bunch more of them
on
line now so we could quit burning some of our precious resources that we
will
never get back. Maybe we should just round up all the fat people in this
world
with their cute "save the environment" bumper stickers and figure out
a way to render them into some BTUs. Less consumption equals less demand.
Face
it folks, anything and everything we do on this earth has an impact. These
arguments will go on forever. There
will always be those who will want to live off the land and then there
will be those who want to forge ahead with their monsterous machines and
power
needs. I can see both sides.

Did you forget 3 mile Island. That was a pretty close call. I was there.
If a wind tower falls, no one dies. If a coal plant explodes, you might
have <100 casualties. If a terrorist takes out a nuke, the casualties
will be in the hundreds of thousands short term, millions over time.
Look at Chernobyl.

Coal kills more animal life than wind. Nukes have the potential to
kill
greater numbers, but haven't yet in this country. Give them time.