Let's learn from Europe

In the middle of a harsh Eastern European winter, Russia shut off the gas to Ukraine and then the rest of Europe. With 80% of its power supplied by nuclear fission reactors, France was hardly affected by the dispute and nuclear power advocates were vindicated. This was a wake up call to many European countries who are now scrambling to build their own fleet of nuclear reactors.

For those concerned about CO2, France has shown how it can be done without ruining the economy. This in stark constrast to the countries who signed the Kyoto Protocol, most of which will not meet their carbon reduction targets despite massive subsides to wind farms and solar projects that provide expensive, unreliable power.

If we really want good paying, stable green jobs and dependable, safe, and affordable energy, carbon trading and carbon taxes will not achieve what a viable nuclear program can do.

Let's learn from Europe, from her hard-working metal and auto workers who now take to the streets in Brussels to protest the latest round of carbon taxes and ever more restrictive emissions regulations which threaten to send their jobs overseas. They have experienced the myth of green jobs.

Can we learn our lesson from Europe's disasterous carbon policies and France's sucess with nuclear power? Or are we doomed to blindly imitate their folly and ignore the reality of the success of nuclear power?