by Art B.

Created on: October 29, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

It cannot be stated that nuclear energy is an absolutely sovereign right for all nations.Merriam-Webster define the adjective 'sovereign' as 'of an unqualified nature.' In the context of that definition, it is safe only to say that all nations have a sovereign right to the energy production technologies that can best serve their people without causing undue risk of adverse effects. Adverse effects may be any one of several things. Most notable, however, are the use of civilian nuclear technology to covertly (or openly, for that matter) develop weapons of mass destruction and the improper disposal of the waste nuclear energy production creates.

There are nations for whom nuclear energy cannot be allowed to be an option, usually due to extremist perspectives and rogue ignorance of international law and order. It is important to note that mere rhetoric should not be enough to disqualify a nation from the use of nuclear energy. Unfortunately, the fine ethical lines drawn within this issue seem to indicate that a nation must have a demonstrable history of active hostility to be considered as having forfeited its right to use nuclear energy.

Nations like these have no right to nuclear energy. Simply put, the implication that such technology may or may not be used by any nation that calls publicly for the extermination of any other nation to develop weapons is enough to actively oppose their development of that technology.

This is an opinion that must be expressed by a majority of world powers, in a unified setting such as the United Nations or the European Union. It is vastly important that all nations, the United States included, understand that no single entity may dictate when a nation has forfeited the right to nuclear energy. This multilateral approach must be consistently and firmly applied to each individual situation and tailored to that situation based on the context and the circumstances that created it.

Furthermore, some nations simply are not large or populous enough to require nuclear energy. There is no sovereign right in such cases. The development of a seemingly civilian nuclear program in a nation which might serve the energy requirements of its populace through other means of generation should be eyed by neighbors with great skepticism and suspicion. Technologies that allow for the use of wind, water and solar energy in the generation of power are constantly improving and new improvements to older technologies may be used responsibly, on a small scale, with minimal environmental damage and cost.

Environmental concerns must be considered at least as important as balance-of-power issues. Nuclear energy production creates no carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxides. Moreover, responsible disposal can establish safe conditions for the storage of nuclear waste. Consider the United States Environmental Protection Agency's one-million year plan for waste storage at Yucca Mountain, AZ.

These two primary factors, the potential for hostility and the danger of improper disposal, make it impossible to reasonably declare nuclear energy a sovereign right for all nations.

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