Lester Brown: Considering the Real Costs of Our Energy Economy

…As concerns over climate change have mounted in recent years, nuclear energy has been touted as a viable alternative to our current dependency on carbon-intensive energy sources.

The truth however, is that when the real costs of nuclear power are considered, the energy source is quickly taken out of the running.

In fact, on a level playing field with no taxpayer subsidies, nuclear power is dead. If utilities pay the full costs of nuclear waste disposal, of insurance against an accident, and of decommissioning plants that are worn out, the cost of nuclear power will far exceed that of other promising alternatives.

This notion of real costs is something that our fossil-fuel-based throwaway economy does not take into account.

Huffington Post