From today's
LA Times.
I agree with Harvey, at least in part. The Japanese situation will be used by opponents of nuclear energy to try to stop it's development. Even if the situation in Japan gets no worse than it is, the objections may very well succeed in killing new reactors in the US (which were in trouble already -- see above article).
That said, we have multiple reactors damaged in a natural disaster, with breached containment, at least partial meltdowns, and some radiation release, with the possibility of things getting a lot worse. Officials everywhere are going to have to take a step back and review things in the light of this development. To do otherwise would be highly irresponsible.
Will they over-react? History certainly allows for the possibility.
However, the pressure to develop nuclear power will not go away. We have used half of the world's known oil supply, and that was the easy (to extract) half. Things will get tougher. Demand is not going away, but supply will decrease. Oil prices (in real dollars) fell throughout the 20th century (with temporary exceptions like WWII and the 1970's OPEC-driven shortages). They have been rising in the 21st, with a respite due to the 2008 economic meltdown. One effect of rising prices will be to make economical technologies that are not economical today. Another will be damage to the economy.
