Readings for October 21

Here we go - head first into the debate over nuclear energy!  The main reading for this week is an article from a few years ago that gives an overview of both sides of the debate.  This is a pre-Fukushima survey, but the core issues have not really changed:

1)  Pros and Cons of Nuclear Energy from a Wall Street Journal article by Michael Totty.  Notice as you are reading this that many of the "pro" arguments for nuclear energy are not actually phrased as inherent advantages of nuclear energy, but as answers to criticisms.  For the quiz this week, I will be asking you to write a few one-sentence summaries of arguments on each side of the issue, so be familiar with the range of points made in this article.

2) The other reading for this week is a recent New York Times article on the future of nuclear power around the world, after Fukushima.  Key (quiz-able) things to note:  how has Japan's plan for the future development of nuclear power changed?  Is the United States still planning to build new nuclear reactors?  Which country has the most nuclear reactors, and which country gets the largest fraction of their energy from nuclear power?