Nuclear power gets a second look

The last nuclear power plant built in the United States was ordered in 1978, the year before the Three Mile Island accident stopped the growth of the US industry in its tracks. But, just in the past year: the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended for to more years six US power plants' operating licenses, which were about to expire after 40 years; the Bush administration's energy plan, released in May 2001, stated that nuclear energy is an essential part of the national energy mix, and directed the Department of Energy to support the expansion of nuclear power generation in the United States as a major component of national energy policy; public opposition to nuclear power, which had been strong since the accident at Three Mile Island, demonstrably weakened; nuclear engineering enrollments at colleges, long in decline, started to climb. The author briefly looks at thee factors that have triggered this rosier view of nuclear power.