The Case For Nuclear Power

It’s a chance to meet our future energy needs while preserving the Earth’s climate

I am addicted to electricity. So are you. And so is your business. We live in an “always on” world
Of course, we could buy energy-saving appliances or drive fuel-efficient cars. We can recycle cans, bottles, and newspapers. We can even plant carbon-absorbing trees. But, no matter how much we may wish they would, these acts by themselves won’t satisfy our energy demands. To do that, we need a diverse energy mix that takes a practical, rather than emotional, approach.

Enter nuclear energy. Nuclear alone won’t get us to where we need to be, but we won’t get there without it. Despite its controversial reputation, nuclear is efficient and reliable. It’s also clean, emitting no greenhouse gases or regulated air pollutants while generating electricity. And with nuclear power, we get the chance to preserve the Earth’s climate while at the same time meeting our future energy needs.

The cost of failing to meet these needs will be steep. The global economy relies on world-class power grids to trade stocks, to communicate instantly, and to buy and sell around the clock. If anything points to the frustrating effect that a failed power grid can have on profits, it’s the San Francisco power outage that took down Silicon Valley enterprises like Craigslist and Netflix (NFLX ) in July. Although it only cost them two hours of online business, that minor power blip illustrates how a lack of electricity can render even a tech-savvy company impotent.

Business Week