Foreword: The return of the nuclear messiahs by Arjun Makhijani

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Chapter One: The World of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Section 1.1 - From Peaceful Panacea to Environmental Necessity
Section 1.2 - The Realities of Climate Change
Section 1.3 - Case Study: the MIT Nuclear Power Report

Chapter Two: The White Elephant
Section 2.1 - The Projected Cost of Nuclear Power
      Section 2.1.1 - Lowering the Capital Cost and Construction Time
      Section 2.1.2 - Reducing the Financial Risk Premium
      Section 2.1.3 - Impact of Potential Cost Improvements
      Section 2.1.4 - Summary of Nuclear Power Economics
Section 2.2 - The Economics of Nuclear Power as a Carbon Mitigation Strategy
      Section 2.2.1 - "Carbon-Free" Portfolios
      Section 2.2.2 - Direct Taxation of Carbon Emissions
Section 2.3 - Alternatives for the Near-Term (2006 - 2020)
      Section 2.3.1 - The Economics of Efficiency
      Section 2.3.2 - The Power of Wind
      Section 2.3.3 - Summary of Near-Term Options
Section 2.4 - Alternatives for the Medium-Term (2020 - 2050)
      Section 2.4.1 - Liquefied Natural Gas and Fuel Switching
      Section 2.4.2 - Increased Use of Wind and Other Renewable Energy Resources
      Section 2.4.3 - Coal Gasification
      Section 2.4.4 - Carbon Capture and Storage
Section 2.5 - Conclusions

Chapter Three: Megawatts and Mushroom Clouds
Section 3.1 - Uranium Enrichment
Section 3.2 - Reprocessing and the Plutonium Economy
Section 3.3 - Tritium Production
Section 3.4 - Strengthening Non-Proliferation Efforts
      Section 3.4.1 - Enhanced Inspections under the IAEA
      Section 3.4.2 - Restricting Access to Fuel Cycle Technologies
      Section 3.4.3 - Increased Consequences for Suspected Proliferators
      Section 3.4.4 - Disarmament and Nonproliferation
Section 3.5 - Conclusions

Chapter Four: A Culture of Safety?
Section 4.1 - The Record of Safety
      Section 4.1.1 - The Problems of Youth
      Section 4.1.2 - The Problems of Aging
      Section 4.1.3 - The Problems of New Reactors
Section 4.2 - The Impacts of A Catastrophic Accident
      Section 4.2.1 - Human Consequences of an Accident
      Section 4.2.2 - Economic Consequences of an Accident
      Section 4.2.3 - The Risks from the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
      Section 4.2.4 - Safety and Public Opinion
Section 4.3 - Probabilistic Risk Assessments
      Section 4.3.1 - The Rasmussen Report and the History of the PRA Methodology
      Section 4.3.2 - Issues of General Completeness
      Section 4.3.3 - "Human Factors"
      Section 4.3.4 - Computers and Digital Control Systems
      Section 4.3.5 -Expert Judgment and Uncertainties of Methodology
Section 4.4 - Safety of an Expansion of Nuclear Power
Section 4.5 - Conclusions

Chapter Five: The Legacy of Nuclear Waste
Section 5.1 -Disposal of "Low-Level" Nuclear Waste
Section 5.2 - Geologic Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High- Level Waste
      Section 5.2.1 - General Uncertainties Regarding Geologic Disposal
      Section 5.2.2 - The History of Geologic Disposal in the United States
      Section 5.2.3 - Ready, Fire, Aim… The DOE Strategy at Yucca Mountain
      Section 5.2.4 - Engineered Barriers at Yucca Mountain, the Changing Focus
      Section 5.2.5 - The "Technical" versus "Legal" Limit at Yucca Mountain
      Section 5.2.6 - Additional Concerns Regarding Yucca Mountain
Section 5.3 - Transportation of Spent Fuel
Section 5.4 - Alternative Waste Management Strategies
      Section 5.4.1 - Monitored Retrievable Storage (MRS)
      Section 5.4.2 - Separation, Transmutation, and MOX Fuel
      Section 5.4.3 - Deep Boreholes
Section 5.5 - Conclusions

Chapter Six: Looking Back, Moving Forward

Appendix A: Uranium Supply and Demand
Section A.1 - Estimates of Uranium Resources
Section A.2 - Estimates of Uranium Production Capacity
Section A.3 - Stretching Uranium Resources
Section A.4 - Estimates for Cumulative Uranium Demand
Section A.5 - Impacts of Uranium Supply and Demand on Proliferation

References

Endnotes