Understanding Government

Maybe the Wall Street Journal is trying to set some kind of record.  A couple of days ago it ran four stories about nuclear power, covering issues like earthquake safety at nuke plants, the potential for danger from powerful floods at a Nebraska facility, a push by Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Gregory Jaczko to move quickly to institute new safety standards, and debates and discussions within the Nuclear Regulatory Council about reforms in U.S. nuclear safety practice following the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan.

This kind of reporting — which the Journal spreads around to different sections — is a significant resource for decision makers in government and the private sector.  Nuclear power makes up more than 8% of total energy production in the U.S., and whether it fades or prospers will have a significant effect on other forms of energy.  One single major nuclear power plant mishap would be enough to destroy the industry and move America in the direction that Japan and Germany now both have settled on.