As North Sea reserves start to run dry, the UK is fast confronting the prospect of becoming a pure importer of oil and gas. The price of both seem to be on a never-ending upwards trajectory and the use of oil in particular is the main cause of air pollution and greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, the increased tendency for people to a) live alone and b) live longer generally means there are more homes than ever to heat in this country. What to do about the need for ever more affordable fuel? Wind, tide and solar power are all great in theory but there is no evidence to suggest that they alone can produce anything like the amount of energy we need. In addition, they would be cripplingly expensive to implement. The only viable solution is to turn to nuclear power. So rather than being scared off by alarmist reports of three-eyed fish, we should instead cautiously welcome the idea of building more nuclear power stations. At this moment in time, nuclear energy is the most cost efficient and practical means of producing the amount of electricity that we require, if not right now then certainly over the next twenty years.
The alternative? A return to candles and oil lamps. Or, even worse, importing electricity from France – where around 80% of power needs are met by nuclear energy, sans controversy.
Posted by Citizen Sane 
