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I'd take a "solar disaster" over a "nuclear disaster" any day. We just need the next great evolutionary jump in solar technology.

Sure, so would everyone but solar technology just had a major jump in the technology and it still can't really do the job. Supportors of present day solar energy will need to live like boondocking RV'ers who use solar all day to charge batteries for 45 minutes of evening light before the batteries drain. This is not the way most Americans live, and RV'ers usually get a generator too.

On the other hand, nuclear is atmospherically clean, reactors are safe from melt down, security is on alert, and the reactor makes lots of power and makes new fuel as it runs. Can't ask for more in this day and age. But as far as a disaster, you simply have to stop it from happening. Hence the War on Terror. Get on board.

I can see your point of view. In my posts I've even conceded there may be a use for nuclear as a quick fix in the short term. But give this article a peak and tell me if you can see it from my point of view as well :

With further advances, the new plastic "could allow up to 30 percent of the sun's radiant energy to be harnessed, compared to 6 percent in today's best plastic solar cells," said Peter Peumans, a Stanford University electrical engineering professor, who studied the work.

Going from 6 percent to 30 percent efficiency in solar cells would allow a solar roof on your home to provide all the energy you need to live your current lifestyle with your current demand for electricity without an electric bill, dependence on oil, or pollution. No more RV'ing it. Furthermore, the system is decentralized -- no more rolling blackouts or city-wide natural power-outages or easy targets for aggressors. It will probably not, however, have the capability to meet industrial demand.

I'm not advocating the abandonment of all nuclear programs. (I'm more of a realist than idealist.) What I do advocate is not going gung-ho and throwing up another 100 power plants while cutting the funding for alternative programs like solar. Build a few power plants in key areas where we get the biggest bang for the buck. Use them and the threat of building more as leverage to oil prices. And continue putting money into R&D for better long term strategies.