Is it time to revive nuclear power? Concerns about climate change and America's dependence on fossil fuels are prompting a reconsideration of nuclear energy.

• Author: Peterson, Scott
• Position: DEBATE

YES AS President Obama and other world leaders strive to meet rising electricity demand with clean energy, they are encouraging construction of new nuclear power plants.

That's because nuclear energy is uniquely able to safely and continually generate large amounts of electricity without emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In fact, nuclear power plants in 31 states currently produce more than 70 percent of the electricity supplied by sources that do not emit greenhouse gases or other air pollutants.

We will need a lot more electricity in the decades ahead to power our increasingly electrified lives--from iPods and BlackBerrys to electric cars. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies must play a bigger role, but America's insatiable demand for electricity means that we must have a balanced mix of clean energy sources and cannot gamble our future on just one or two approaches.

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The outstanding safety and operating performance that has persuaded policymakers of nuclear energy's value is rooted in reforms put in place 30 years ago, after the accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Plants across the country now actively share their safety expertise; private inspections and training programs help achieve excellence above and beyond the government's regulatory requirements. Nuclear power plants are also economic powerhouses, typically providing up to 700 jobs at substantially above-average salaries.

It's time for the U.S. to be realistic about our future energy needs and the threat of global climate change. One solution is to ramp up our investment in nuclear energy.

--SCOTT PETERSON

Vice President, Nuclear Energy Institute

NO We should not resume building nuclear reactors on a large scale until we solve the safety, security, and environmental problems associated with the 104 plants operating in the U.S. today.

In addition to electricity, nuclear reactors produce highly radioactive material that...