Nuclear Power has proven to be incredibly safe and effective. To be convenient and carbonless.
Under no circumstance is Nuclear Power "clean". The simple fact is this:
The United States has put off its nuclear waste problem for 4 decades, and we are now simply a disaster waiting to happen. While it might be 1 in 10,000 that the Indian Point Power Plant will experience any kind of catastrophic outcome in any given year (and I doubt that probability calculation greatly), the odds that America will suffer a significant crisis due to its unattended nuclear waste approaches the proverbial "sure thing".
Get googling. Read.
How did this come to pass? Given Medicare, Social Security, the Federal Budget Deficit, etc... I think that's a f&%$&*ing dumb question. Our governments - federal and local - are dominated by wordsmiths (lawyers), not engineers, mechanics, mathematicians, and scientists. As our society's complexities have grown exponentially, the ability of the people minding the store to understand the critical issues facing that complexity has not grown to meet our needs.
I hope to good heavens that the American people come around to the real Nuclear issue - and it isn't earthquakes or tsunamis.
More soon.