Every way of producing energy has a negative side - every single one of them. From the modern problem of spent nuclear fuel to the horse poop and wood-smoke pollution of 100 years ago, there's a down side to any way you do it.

Environmentalists get publicity and make a living by hollering about the negative side of every form of energy production. That's not helpful. It would be helpful if they'd work on minimizing the bad effects instead, because the bottom line is that we need lots of energy and it has to be produced somehow.

Environmentalists are trying to get back to a "pristine" continent that never existed - back before the evil Europeans came. The reality is that back then Indians were driving whole buffalo herds off cliffs, poisoning fish, cannibalizing each other, and lightning-caused forest fires burned uncontrolled from coast to coast.

It's true that the Indians didn't screw up the environment as much as do - but that's only because there weren't many of them. Environmentalists need to forget about Hiawatha and realize that an advanced nation of 300+ million people has to have a massive amount of energy and fuel. Then they should work constructively on minimizing the bad effects of the various ways we produce and use that energy.