It works both ways, Rob. It is very frustrating for someone in the middle on this issue, (yeah, that's how I view myself, believe it or not), to see himself lumped indiscriminately with the wacko greens and hippy moonbeam nutcases simply because he questions the propaganda coming out of the industry and its political allies.

Those of you who have followed my posting here for years know I have never been opposed to nuclear power, or for that matter, even oil and coal, as part of our energy tool kit. Were going to need all of them, as well as alternative and renewable, and CONSERVATION, (by far the easiest and cheapest one that never seems to be mentioned). Frankly, unless fusion comes on line soon I really don't know how we're going to get out of this mess, no matter what we do. We've already passed the point of no return on fission (the failure to launch a breeder reactor program).

I'll concede not all of this is the fault of the industry. The failure of the Yucca mountain storage was a terrible blow to the nation's, maybe the world's future. But I do know enough about this issue to be convinced that the industry is perfectly willing to paint all critics with the same brush because it serves their short term agenda. They don't want to give up their position as gatekeepers of a vanishing resource.

Corporate interests and their Tea Party pals are determined to paint all voices for caution, reform, conservation or moderation as Luddite lunatics (you know, "who want to go back to a pastoral 18th century lifestyle"), who are opposed to all progress and technology because they are evil socialist traitors. This is not all that far removed from NRA don't-let-them-get-a-foot-in-the-door tactics; Birthers, Soros-Bashing, UNophobia, Obama is a Mau-Mau, and the rest of the puerile idiocy that passes for legitimate political dialogue these days. It comes from the same place, men with no conscience and something to gain and a lot to lose determined to exploit the technical ignorance and political naivete of the American people to further their careers at the expense of the nation's welfare and survival.

The whole nation is splitting on ideological lines because the choices we are going to be forced to make in the future are going to be expensive ones, and they simply don't want to pay their share. As long as the Right insists on denouncing anyone who doesn't march in lock step with them as cowards, fools, traitors and communists, they are not going to be taken seriously by anyone except their own fellow travelers. And much of what is of value in Conservative philosophy (yes, I believe there is quite a bit) will be discredited and soiled by the unprincipled opportunists that currently infest the movement.

The era of cheap energy is over. Many resources, but oil in particular, are running out. Two billion Indians and Chinese are coming on line, wanting SUVs, ranch houses in the suburbs and cushy bullshit management jobs in air conditioned offices. The world is changing, not because of some New World Order conspiracy, but because its getting smaller and its getting crowded.