[RightWhale]

Probably what we have in these plants are some specialty materials, some special steel alloys, and some control systems that could be copied, no doubt, but at great expense and reduced reliability. Even the fuel itself might be a custom mix and in a form that could be copied if their uranium plants had the specialized machinery. They could do this now. That they would buy nuclear plants means that we are winning in the marketplace. Our tech lead isn't so great anymore, and in many areas it is long gone. From now on we're going to have to work hard to stay competitive.

[oceanagirl]

I hope that you're right and I'll keep your views in mind. I really hate seeing this country fall behind in technology. My strengths do not lie in the tech/science area, so I can't do much to help directly. What are your views as to the reasons for our decline?