Reporter and writer. I cover energy, climate change and geopolitics. Contact me via my website www.alexanderckaufman.com and subscribe to kaufman.substack.com.

in short: it’s either nuclear or it’s a scam

Not quite! Geothermal is awesome. So is hydro, though it’s complicated in a world with shifting water patterns. Solar and wind can do a lot, especially with batteries, but have more downsides than a lot of the environmental groups would have you think.

What are the downsides of nuclear energy  ?

Artist-author from France •+• I imagine a network society of the future dedicated to arts, enlightenment and harmony with nature www.solaires.art

Good sum-up. Seen from here in France, it's true that it would make sense for the US to have more of it (I would say it's better than coal of course). Yet I can hardly see it expended at the whole world at the moment.

It’s expensive to build, has a lot of reputational baggage, produces (relatively tiny amounts of) waste, the US is heavily dependent on uranium fuel imports.