I can't believe it. Bush actually is pushing something that makes sense... nuclear power (or nukeular, as he calls it, since he's still a moron).
As much as I consider myself an environmentalist, nuclear power is still the most efficient way to generate electricity in this country. Now if we could just kills these stupid rules the prevent us from recycling the spent fuel. If we could do that, we would nearly eliminate the waste product. Integrate hydrogen production into the electricity generation process, and we can start pushing real alternate fuels for cars too.
IMO, the way to go as far as alternative fuels for cars is biodiesel. The technology is already here and people are already using it. It just needs to be more readily available and there definately needs to be more information making its way to the masses. Hydrogen may be a reality someday, but biodiesel is a reality today (if you can find it).
I haven't seen any studies saying that quantity would be a problem. I don't think that the supply could be there for every vehicle used in the U.S., but it could take a HUGE burden off of our fossil fuel dependancy while reducing emissions at the same time.
There will always be the people that will refuse to use anything other than what they are used to and must drive their V-8, V-10 or even the W-12's on the road these days. They are going to be the ones most hurt by the continually rising fuel prices and I could care less about their financial woes, except for the small percentage of people that actually NEED that vehicle for their livelihood.
Right now the government is paying small farmers NOT to farm portions of their land. There is a lot of farmland that could be converted to soybean production to help with the supply side of biodiesel. Will there be enough to go around, frankly I don't know. But there could definately be more than enough for those of us who would prefer to use it and not be as dependant on fossil fuels as we currently are. Hydrogen is too far away at this point and would require a more complete system overhaul whereas biodiesel could be sold at any existing gas station with little or no modification.
Finally, as an environmentalist by profession, I agree that nuclear power is the only feasible way to generate the amount of power that we need. I would like to see as many renewable sources as possible also contributing to the grid, but nuclear power is the only answer that makes sense.
Mike