Pro Nuclear Propoganda

I'm not going to get into the technical details of why fast breeder reactors are the best solution to the energy/climate crisis here, but nuclear power faces one major implementation problem, public image.

When people think nuclear, they think Chernobyl, Hiroshima, Three Mile Island. Radiation sickness, cancer children, irradiated wastelands. The reality is the that nuclear power is inherently unfriendly and dangerous. It's a classic Big Science field with military applications and hefty health risks. We are right to be concerned.

I doubt people will ever like nuclear power, but we must promote credibility in America's nuclear complex. This means moving it from the shadow of military secrecy. Familiarity will make people less nervous. Nuclear power should be directly compared to coal, in terms of local impact. Numbers and facts may help, but the image of a nuclear plant on a green field with a blue sky, compared to black skies full of coal smoke is what we're aiming for.

One killer app is nuclear power for disaster aid. A Russian group is planning to building floating nuclear power plants. These could be used to run desalination plants to provide clean water in Africa and SE Asia. Of course, the problem is that one security breach and you have Somali pirates with nukes, but we must run risks.

As for our larger project, the biggest danger is that all science may be again tarred with the nuclear brush. Failure here could affect fusion, nanotech, and other convergent technologies.

As time permits, I may turn my hand to doing some propaganda.