We humans have three needs when it comes to the use of energy: to heat our homes, to cook our food, and to power our vehicles. Just three, that's all, no more, no less.

Today, we live in a world of the butterfly effect with respect to chemical and thermal pollution. If someone in Asia burns a gallon of gasoline, combustion will release 19 pounds mass of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and, at the same time, it will remove nearly 21 pounds of oxygen from the atmosphere. We humans all share the atmosphere with all life.

In terms of the production of carbon dioxide per unit heat energy, gasoline produces 150 pounds mass per million BTU; natural gas produces 330 pounds mass per million BTU; and coal produces 650 pounds per million BTU. The combustion of ethanol produces 152 pounds mass per million BTU.

Some people believe that we can use less energy. As a society, we are would be hard-pressed to use less energy. The past thirty years or so have been devoted to energy-saving technology. But, at the same time, technology has brought more energy-consuming gadgets to our lives.

Nuclear energy is an option that cannot be overlooked. But there are some concerns which need to be addressed.

Safety is a paramount concern to all. A nuclear power plant cannot create a nuclear explosion. Nuclear power plants lack the quantity of fissile material to cause a nuclear explosion.

The nuclear reactor at Chernobyl had a significant design flaw: As the reactor temperature increased, so did the rate of the nuclear reaction. This characteristic is not allowed in reactor designs today. Increases in temperature above the normal operating reactor temperature cause the nuclear reaction rate to decrease and shut the reactor down.

Of course, nuclear waste is also a concern. But let us understand there are other sources of nuclear waste. And let us understand the quantity of radioactive material that the nuclear fission creates in terms of megawatts of power. To power a nuclear power plant for 25 years which produces 120 MW of electrical power will consume less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of fissile material. The amount of nuclear waste generated directly by this hypothetical facility is about 10 kilograms. The amount of nuclear waste by incident neutron radiation may approach 10 times the direct amount. Thus, this facility would generate a little over 100 kilograms of radioactive waste.

Let's take this hypothetical plant another step and ask the question how much carbon dioxide would be released to the atmosphere if we burned coal instead. First, we assume that the thermal energy required to produce electrical energy is an approximate ratio of 3:1. Or, in this case, we will need 360 MW of thermal energy which will produce 80 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the same 25 years. Also, this process would remove about the same amount of oxygen from the atmosphere as well.

A "green" reactor has been designed that may produce energy as cheaply as  3 cents per kWh. The national average cost of electricity is 10 cents per kWh. Maybe these new nukes could finance a viable national health care program as well as fund public education and teachers' salaries.