"Without one tiny whisp of smog."

Over the past few months, NEI Nuclear Notes has made the argument that many mainstream environmentalists are beginning to take a harder look at nuclear energy. In a preface to an article that suggests that course, EcoWorld editor Ed Ring makes his own case for nuclear energy:

When choosing what type of electrical power generation to develop, the trade-offs are stark. Pick your poison. Over the past 30 years there haven't been many new nuclear power plants developed in the USA or most of Europe, but they are the exception. Fortunately nuclear power technology has developed significantly in the last 30 years.

A few years ago the article that follows, which is informative but unabashedly pro-nuclear, would have been condemned by 99% of environmentalists. But today nuclear power has become so much safer and concerns about greenhouse gasses have become so acute that growing numbers of environmentalists are dropping their opposition to nuclear power and instead are calling for more nuclear power plants. Imagine driving through Los Angeles, or Beijing, or Mexico City, in 2020, in a car that is powered by electricity coming from a nuclear power plant. Imagine all these mega-cities without one tiny wisp of smog.

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