If so, you might ask “how do you mine uranium without oil?” Is there any other substance you are aware of that has the energy density necessary for such an energy intensive operation such as uranium mining? What about transportation and refinement of the ore? And what about transportation for disposal of nuclear waste?

Next, from your related post, how exactly has the problem of nuclear waste storage “largely been solved?” When it comes to toxic radioactive waste, don’t you want the problem of storage completely solved before you push for more nuclear energy? Any discussion of the merits of nuclear energy should be presented with a discussion of the problems with nuclear waste disposal.

I read both of your “musings” on nuclear power. In your first post, you say you’ll comment on the drawbacks of nuclear energy. A year later, doesn’t look like you ever did. Perhaps you’re seeing only what you want to see. You say you’re an optimist. Try being a realist. Oil and uranium are non-renewable resources and we’re going to run out of both sooner or later, probably sooner based on our current rate of consumption.

The problem is serious. We’ve built a society dependent on oil to not only function but survive. Optimistically, “human ingenuity” will prevail. However in the meantime, we need clean water, food, and and most of all, abundant, cheap energy to make clean water and food readily available to all 6 billion of us. Oil is that abundant, cheap energy, and nuclear energy can’t replace it. In terms of energetics, it’s simply impossible. This is why people are telling you that there’s only a 10-20 year supply of uranium if we expect nuclear energy to supplant the energy we get from oil at our current consumption rate.

So, we need to look at other renewable-energy technologies, especially solar, a technology proven to work for MILLIONS of years. Yes… millions. We get more energy from the sun in one day than we use in one year. Our only limitations are problems of conversion and storage. Why not apply your optimism to those problems? I’m perplexed why you’re for nuclear power when it’s a finite resource, produces life-threatening waste that remains toxic for generations, and relies on non-renewable fossil fuels for the entire life-cycle from mining to disposal.

Most perplexing: You know nuclear waste is dangerous and knowledgeable people, experts in their fields are telling you at the current rate of consumption we’ll run out of oil soon; you’re optimistically saying “don’t worry about it.” Ever hear of erring on the side of caution?

In any case, this article doesn’t have anything to do with oil supplies–it’s about uranium.