A month or two ago I was driving home from a hike on a Sunday afternoon, listening to NPR on XM radio. There was a lecture by an expert on energy, being delivered to some reputable organization - the details of who it was, and to whom it was delivered I don't recall, but he certainly sounded like a credible individual. Anyway, he methodically explained the world's energy usage, the sources from which it was derived, and the practical limitations of each. He pointed out that, even if our reservations about nuclear energy could be mitigated, and extraction/creation of the fuel done in a less harmful way, that in order to meet the world's energy needs a nuclear power plant would have to come online, once a week for the next 40 years.
I got home before before his talk ended, so didn't hear his conclusions. Based upon what I did hear, it seems likely we'll be burning fossil fuel for a long time to come, especially since there's little financial motivation to do otherwise.
