Having just watched the CNN documentary "Pandora's Promise" about nuclear energy, this is a timely topic. It was far from the best documentary I have seen. However, if nothing else, it made it clear that the nuclear energy debate is not as black and white as it may appear. From the linked article, this may be the most important paragraph:
"Rubbia pointed out that thorium leaves less long-lived waste than uranium, is far more plentiful and is resistant to weapons proliferation, as I reported on my Weinberg blog. He also noted that thorium is effective at safely breeding more fuel, and that it has a much higher energy content than uranium or fossil fuels (see chart below), a characteristic that he said gives it
