Let us instead focus on the economy, energy, education, healthcare, military, and environmental policies. I believe there are many things that may help to improve both the infrastructure of our country and our economy that are not being considered seriously or debated seriously by our politicians/media/we the people. Today I want to discuss just one of those things that I feel should be considered/debated more seriously. I am not saying that we should jump head first into this and implement policies to do such right away, but I do believe serious discussion about this option, and others like it, is needed.
Now, I have heard from several engineers that there are potentially huge benefits in converting our general power source of large cities from coal & oil to nuclear power. In 2005 it was estimated that 40% of the nation's energy came from oil, 23% from coal, 23% from natural gas, 8.4% from nuclear power and 7.3% from renewable sources (such as wind, hydroelectric, etc.). By allocating government funding for the conversion of oil, coal, and natural gas plants to fail-safe nuclear plants we will be paying Americans to build facilities that will, in the long-term, save Americans money. With each facility that is built and operated, our fossil fuel consumption will drop, sending oil prices and dependency down. We all know that our oil money funds many of our enemies, even if it is inadvertently. I understand this will be a large fiscal responsibility, but this seems, to me, a reasonable way to spend what money we have to spend. It will provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans directly and if we also buy the materials from American companies (steel, concrete, heavy equipment, etc.) it will provide millions of secure jobs for many years to come. These won't be low paying jobs either mind you. Indeed these will be secure, rewarding jobs for the American people and American companies, and when the work is complete, we will benefit again by having a steady supply of clean energy.
Having said what I've wanted to say, I implore you to express your opinions on the matter to both myself and others. First, I would like you to do some research on the matter. Here are some helpful links to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_States, http://www.eia.gov/ (U.S. Energy Information Administration), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power. I can't wait to hear your diverse and unique opinions and when I do, I will respond with an updated post addressing your concerns and opinions with new information and citations of present information if needed. Thank you for your time.
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