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Yes, we should go nuclearbut not because of so-called "global warming."

We need to go nuclear because it is the most efficient and least costly way to provide the power needed for a growing population in an industrial world. By the year 2050, with modest growth rates, the world will need three times the electricity we produce today.(1) If we don't use the most scientifically advanced systemsnuclear now, and later thermonuclear fusionto supply this power, millions of people will die from cold, hunger, disease, lack of water, and other preventable calamities.

Throughout history, civilizations have advanced by making use of scientific discoveries and creating new resources in order to support an increasing population with a decreasing land use.(2) Wood was not a resource until man used fire; coal was just a rock in the ground, until man figured out how to burn it. Atoms were just ideas, until man discovered how to split the heaviest atoms and make use of the energy released in fission. If civilization continues, future generations will create new energy resources that we perhaps cannot even think of today.

The Advantages of Nuclear

No other present source of power can compare to the energy density of nuclear. An amount of uranium fuel small enough to hold in your hand, can generate the energy-equivalent of 100 freight cars loaded with coal, or a large tanker full of petroleum. Just 1.86 grams of nuclear fuel equals the output of 23.5 tons of dry wood, or 6.15 tons of coal, or 30 barrels of oil (at 42 gallons each).

Energy flux density is the measure used to compare sources of power, measured in megawatts per square meter. Specifically, this refers to how much power each source produces as it flows through a cross-section of the surface of the energy-producing process, such as a boiler. The more concentrated the energy produced, the more energy efficient and economical that power source is, as the table below shows.

More concentrated energy sources can accomplish things that less energy dense sources cannot. For example, the high heat of a fourth-generation nuclear reactor can efficiently remove the salt from seawater, to make it drinkable. At heats above 700-800 degrees C, we can also cheaply separate water into oxygen and hydrogen, producing a portable fuel that can be used to power automobiles. A solar cell or windmill cannot do this. With thermonuclear fusion power, man tames the power of the Sun. The fusion torch, designed more than 40 years ago, will provide enough

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