Should the US significantly increase its use of nuclear energy?

Answer 1

This is a question of overall energy policy, the federal government should have some influence on this, and it is connected to efforts to reduce fossil fuel use. My own view (as a non-US person) is that it would be sensible to plan to replace old stations as they come to the end of life, but that a significant expansion of nuclear power should be dependent on agreeing and starting to implement a route for permanent storage of high level waste, ie spent fuel, which is still being stored on power plant sites. It would also be important to ensure the NRC has adequate resources to monitor the new plants. I don't think we should. There is a possibility of a plant exploding and would cause great devastation in an area about the size of Pennsylvania. Also we do not have and efficient way to get rid of the nuclear waste. I heard this from my chemistry teacher. Actually Nuclear Energy is much more efficient than coal. The problem right now would be that the nuclear "waste" is being stored in underground bunkers somewhere in the Rockies, but this waste is actually still active enough that we could re-use it.