The Debate: Is More Nuclear Energy Essential to Combat Climate Change?

With demands to eliminate climate change-inducing carbon emissions gaining urgency, nuclear energy is enjoying renewed if controversial support worldwide and domestically. In the United States, lawmakers and policymakers are aware that the technology has important downsides, including waste disposal and reactor safety. But now some are arguing that an energy source with virtually no air emissions deserves a new look, particularly with advanced designs on the drawing board that aim to address these and other problems.