Deadbeat Fuels, Part 1: Nuclear

Imagine the fifty years ago, you had a delightful little baby boy, full of hope and promise. You spared no expense in bringing him up: private tutors, piano classes, fancy summer camps. You raided your retirement fund to pay for his college education, financed his travels around the globe, even put off retirement when he needed to move back into the house after being unable to find a job. Now he's 50, playing Grand Theft Auto in the basement, and asking what's for dinner.

That's pretty much the story of the nuclear industry in the United States. A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Nuclear Power: Still Not Viable Without Subisidies," details the more than 30 different subsidies that are lavished on nuclear power at every stage of its production. Taken together, these subsidies "often have exceeded the average market price of the power produced." That is, it costs more to prop up the industry than its product is worth. What if we subsidized clean energy instead?

--Paul Rauber

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