Answer in Plain Sight 

Mona Charen's View

   "The shift in attitudes toward Russia ... it remains to be seen whether it will stick. Human tendency toward complacency and denial is very strong. One way we'll know if democracies have truly grappled with the moment is what they do on energy.

   "Without energy revenue, Russia is defanged. Oil and gas account for nearly 40 percent of Russia's federal revenue and 60 percent of exports. The old gibe that Russia is a 'gas station with nukes' was only somewhat exaggerated. Europe currently relies on Russia for 40 percent of its energy needs. 

   "Another path, better for the climate than liquified natural gas and more reliable than renewables, is in plain sight - nuclear power. (It is estimated) that world energy demand will increase 50 percent by 2050. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries cannot in conscience deny development to the world's poorer nations. 

   "Nor can we delude ourselves that renewables, at the current state of technology, can take up all the slack created by giving up fossil fuels. 

   "Amazingly, there is an existing technology that can produce the energy the world needs without harming the climate. And yet we hesitate. Nuclear power is the key to limiting climate change and hobbling some of the world's worst aggressors. 

   "If we're serious about both problems, we'll clear the air of superstitions about nuclear power. Nuclear power plants cannot explode like nuclear bombs. They require much less land than solar or wind. Nuclear waste can be safely buried. 

   "...evaluate trade-offs like adults. Are we serious about choking off the source of Putin's power or not? Are we serious about combating climate change without illusions that wind and solar will do the job? Nuclear energy can be a major part of the solution to both challenges." 

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We believed all this when we worked for Westinghouse in the late 20th century. The company built nuclear power plants, but environmentalists - not all - are staunch opponents of clean, nuclear energy.    Jimmy