Is Nuclear the Anwer to Our Energy Needs?

Once again, our friends at Architecture 2030 bring some much needed clarity to discussions on how much we can rely on nuclear energy to solve the climate crisis with a powerful visual:

That's right, nuclear energy can meet only about 2% of our energy needs - 20 years from now! And even if we assume that nuclear could get more efficient and provide, say, double that amount. That is still only 4% of our energy needs at great cost and great risk. Certainly we can do better than that with a combination of renewable and cost effective wind, solar, geothermal and fuel cell technology.

Despite the rhetoric, nuclear is not the answer. Not only because we still have not solved the problem of nuclear waste, construction and safety, nor the high energy costs of building the plants themselves, but because it doesn't solve the problem of energy demand.

We need to reduce demand while investing in cost effective, efficient, clean, safe and plentiful methods of energy production. Nuclear simply doesn't pass the test.