As a way of disclosure, I hold a degree in Chemistry and find the subject of nuclear energy quite interesting. From one standpoint, it is the 21^st century equivalent of alchemy as we have found ways to change elements into other elements. Theoretically, we can even make lead into gold though it is 1) complicated and 2) the gold wouldn’t be worth anything.

But nuclear energy is also the genie that was loosed from the bottle and we are having a difficult time getting it back in. After the first atomic weapon was exploded in New Mexico, Robert Oppenheimer, the civilian director of the Manhattan Project thought of two verses from the Bhagavad Gita,

If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one.

He later added the line that he is more often remembered for,

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

I believe in nuclear power as an alternative source of energy. But I am also aware of the risks, the dangers, and the consequences that come with using nuclear power. It comes down to what we, individually and collectively, know and what we do with the knowledge. I believe that most of the accidents that have occurred in the past and the problems in Japan are not related to nuclear power but to human failings. It may be, as one source suggested, that the problems in Japan occurred because the people building the plants did not test the back up systems properly. I will hold judgment on that but I have heard too many other stories about management insisting on improper shortcuts to dismiss such comments.

In the end, we the people must make informed decisions and not rely on others to make up our minds for us. So I am providing some links that will give you the starting information that can help you understand what is going on.

Basic information about nuclear reactors and what the terms used in the media are supposed to mean can be found at "ABCs of Japan’s Nuclear Reactor Disaster". The Union of Concerned Scientists also provides updates about the nuclear industry at "All Things Nuclear".