THANK you, Jeffrey Sachs!

The Earth Institute's Jeffrey Sachs, who is a pretty darned smart guy, has come to the inevitable conclusion that maintaining a strong nuclear energy generating capacity is critical to meeting society's energy demands while addressing the growing danger of climate change.   And while the Heartland Institute it shooting itself nicely in the foot with an ill-conceived ad campaign (more on that sooner), we as a societal whole need to be listening more to the wise words of Mr. Sachs and others who are like-minded, a group in which I humbly include myself.


Nuclear power is only solution to climate change, says Jeffrey Sachs
Earth Institute director says urgency of problem and immaturity of renewable energy industry leave little option but nuclear

"But Sachs, director of the Earth Institute and professor of sustainable development at Columbia University in the US, said the world had no choice because the threat of climate change had grown so grave. He said greenhouse gas emissions, which have continued to rise despite the financial crisis and deep recession in the developed world, were "nowhere near" falling to the level that would be needed to avert dangerous climate change.


He said: "Emissions per unit of energy need to fall by a factor of six. That means electrifying everything that can be electrified and then making electricity largely carbon-free. It requires renewable energy, nuclear and carbon capture and storage – these are all very big challenges. We need to understand the scale of the challenge."