For anyone that has been in a blackout or a brownout, one recognizes instantly, that without electricity, that life not only becomes inconvenient, it becomes very quickly problematic. This means that reliable and consistent electricity is of paramount importance, not so much so that we can enjoy the conveniences of life, but to actually be able to have and to sustain life itself. America derives its energy from many sources, of which nuclear is one of them, however the percentage of power usage generated by nuclear as remained at about 20% for the last twenty-five years and shows absolutely no sign whatsoever of that percentage increasing in the near future, for two very basic reasons: which are that nuclear plants have a finite amount of life before they are decommissioned and the second reason is that America has deliberately turned its back on nuclear power and is simply not building or barely building and developing any new plants.
All of the above might be okay if there were ready alternatives to nuclear, that were or consisted of their being smaller footprints, more reliable, more efficient, more able, and the like, but none of these things are actually true, yet nuclear energy has been set aside, or shunned for no good reason. It doesn't help that the media and the liberal press are not on board for nuclear, and that they make it a point so often to vilify nuclear as unsafe, dangerous, catastrophic, and so forth. Of course, there are risks with any energy source, nuclear has risks particular to its usage, but then again as reported by nei.org: "A 1,000-megawatt nuclear facility needs just over one square mile," and has an average capacity factor of 90 percent or better.
While critics of nuclear energy have their place what is often missing from the discussion is the fact that technology and its proper application only approve over time and by virtue of the fact that since 1990, America has brought virtually no nuclear reactors online, it is important to recognize that tomorrow's nuclear reactors, whether created in America, or abroad, will be more efficient, safer, and more effective than ever. In addition, the electricity needs of man continues to go up year after year, especially in countries such as China, which is and has been on a massive growth rate and additionally has significant pollution problems that cannot resolve itself unless more of their energy needs are met by nuclear reactor's non-carbon footprint.
In the natural, the United States typically leads all other nations in innovation and technology, yet, for whatever reason, America has wasted a lot of time and energy embracing so-called "renewable" such as wind and solar that does not now, nor ever will, be able to consistently, economically, and reliably provide meaningful electrical needs for Americans. Everything that America really needs is contained within nuclear energy, yet, it has been wrongly shunned aside, in a country that runs on energy, and claims to be seriously concerned about its carbon emissions problem. The real answer to our energy needs is in nuclear, and every day that America fails to recognize this, is another day lost to substandard replacements that while politically connected are woefully inadequate.