But here’s what’s really frightening: India has over 200 active terrorist groups, some linked to Al Queda and other radical Islamic groups. Plus experience suggests that many of its civil service workers are for sale at the right price. The prospect of storing nuclear materials (or even using them) in India scares the hell out of me.

Here’s an alternative: in the U.S., conservation could cut our usage in half with no lifestyle changes and little investment. We already get 7% of our electricity from renewables; if we use half as much, we’re already at 14% renewable. With the recent surge in wind and solar, and new tech coming out almost daily (like wave power and geothermal), the combination of less usage and greater renewable production should quickly (like within a decade) fill the gap, given enough incentive.

One problem is, people are going to push those sources of power from which THEY can make profits. Oil-, coal-, and uranium- sourced power require constant exploration, mining, processing, and transportation. They employ lots of people and maintain a constant cash flow for thousands of suppliers. No wonder they sound more attractive than solar or wind, which (once the capital investment is made) require little input or labor! They don’t share the wealth.

http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2007/12/general-electric-seeks-market-solutions.html

Energy conservation has to be a major part of any energy plan as do renewables. But will that be enough, especially with India and China modernizing rapidly? It would be better if they went nuclear rather than coal, I think.