Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Although some countries plan to build new nuclear power plants in the near future, in aggregate the data indicates that nuclear power's influence will continue to dwindle across the globe in coming decades.

Of the more than 40-plus countries that have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear energy, only a few have the odds in their favor.

Last summer, 11 Harvard graduate students and postdocs went to France to investigate Areva's spent fuel reprocessing. On the trip, they debated whether the United States should reprocess as well. What resulted was the typical split that has followed this debate for decades.

Most global nuclear technology agreements lack an important characteristic: They don't address how to safely deal with spent nuclear fuel. But two proposals suggest that viable options do exist.

The specter of nuclear proliferation must be understood as both a political issue and a technological one. For the intent of would-be proliferators needs to be addressed together with the science.

As plans for new U.S. nuclear power plants encounter problems, their proponents seek to shift ever more economic risk to taxpayers who are already staggering under the weight of other federal bailouts.

A targeted use of nuclear power could solve the major problems of renewable energy sources by providing carbon-emission-free power for biofuel refineries and backup energy for solar, wind, and other renewable sources.

Even with the election of a renewable-friendly president and interest in clean energy booming, wind power entrepreneur Michael Polsky worries that a U.S. energy policy that encourages renewables is still a long way off.

Seminal texts that cover the merits, costs, and risks of nuclear power and also explore sustainable non-nuclear energy options.

As the United States and Russia continue to consolidate their nuclear arsenals, the number of sites in the world that host nuclear weapons also has decreased.