France's Nuclear Solution

Nuclear energy carries one great big negative: the problem of nuclear waste. But what if there was a solution to this problem: one that reduced the amount and the toxicity of nuclear waste by 80 percent or more?

From my new column in The Week:

America gets one-fifth of its power from nuclear power plants. Nuclear is far and away the cheapest and most reliable alternative to carbon-emitting coal. Yet we all know that nuclear energy carries one great big negative: the problem of nuclear waste, the radioactive residue from enriched uranium. Now, suppose there were a solution to this problem? A solution that reduced the amount and the toxicity of nuclear waste by 80 percent or more? That would be useful, right? Well guess what—it’s doable. Better yet—it’s done.

Read the rest here.