ODT: The U.S. should increase its nuclear energy development.

C1: Nuclear power efficacy [1] We know that nuclear power is efficient and cheap energy, as demonstrated by France, Germany and now even China. France has developed safe nuclear energy to the point of generating 75% of its energy from nuclear power. WNA writes, “France is the world's largest net exporter of electricity due to its very low cost of generation, and gains over EUR 3 billion per year from this…As a result of the 1974 decision, France now claims a substantial level of energy independence and almost the lowest cost electricity in Europe. It also has an extremely low level of CO2 emissions per capita from electricity generation, since over 90% of its electricity is nuclear or hydro.” C2: Nuclear power, transition and the economy [2] As oil supplies decrease and “green energy” prospects glim due to an unfavorable market and economic manipulation on the part of the Chinese the U.S. is in a difficult position to secure energy development and security. An answer to this is nuclear energy. The technology is available, the infrastructure is available, the private and public capital is available, the only thing that needs to get out of the way is government mandates blocking nuclear development. As opposed to oil, nuclear energy can be created and unlike “green energy”, nuclear energy is economically viable. Thus, in order to break oil dependence and in order to transition our economy towards economically viable “green energy” the U.S. should increase its nuclear development. Fertel writes, A single nuclear plant will create 1,400 to 1,800 jobs during construction and 400 to 700 employees during the 60-year operating lifetime of the plant. Based on economic studies of 22 U.S. nuclear power plants, each year a new reactor will produce $430 million in local expenditures for goods, services and labor; generate more than $20 million in state and local tax revenue; and produce at least $75 million in federal tax payments. Construction of a new reactor also will provide a substantial boost to suppliers of commodities and manufacturers of hundreds of components. C3: Nuclear power reduces air pollution [3] [4] CNA writes, Nuclear power reactors emit no carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides or sulphur dioxide. In nuclear power plants the energy to generate the electricity comes from a nuclear reactionentirely within the uranium fuel inside the reactor. Since there is no combustion there areno emissions. The 438 nuclear power reactors operating around the world generate aboutone sixth of our electricity and emit no global warming, smog or acid rain gases. In 2009, Canada's nuclear stations generated about 15% of our electricity. The nuclear power plants in Ontario produced 55% of the electricity used in that province. If the electricity produced by Canada's nuclear power plants were generated by coal, there would be an additional 90 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted into our atmosphere each year. Canada's emissions of nitrous oxides and sulphur dioxide would also increase by about10%, adding to smog and acid rain. And, this prevents unnecessary deaths. NIEHS writes, “Lives saved by research on the health consequences of environmental pollutants can be counted in the millions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s estimates on air pollution, the commitment to new air quality standards and cleaner air will prevent 23,000 premature American deaths, 1.7 million cases of asthma attack or aggravation of chronic asthma, 67,000 new cases of acute and chronic bronchitis, 22,000 respiratory-related hospital admissions, and 42,000 hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease…” C4: Nuclear power and the War on Terror (CiRrK signature) [5] IAGS writes, "The line between the barrel and the bomb is clear. It is oil wealth that enables dictatorial regimes to sustain themselves, resisting openness, progress and power sharing. Some semi-feudal royal families in the Gulf buy their legitimacy from the Muslim religious establishment. This establishment uses oil money to globally propagate hostility to the West, modernity, non-Muslims, and women. This trend is likely to continue. Both the International Energy Agency and the Energy Information Agency of the U.S. Department of Energy currently project a steady increase in world demand for oil through at least 2020. This means further enrichment of the oil-producing countries and continued access of terrorist groups to a viable financial network which allow then remain a lethal threat to the U.S. and its allies." Saudi Arabia “It is no coincidence that so much of the cash filling terrorists' coffers come from the oil monarchies in the Persian Gulf. It is also no coincidence that those countries holding the world's largest oil reserves and those generating most of their income from oil exports, are also those with the strongest support for radical Islam. In fact, oil and terrorism are entangled. If not for the West's oil money, most Gulf states would not have had the wealth that allowed them to invest so much in arms procurement and sponsor terrorists organizations…Most wealthy Saudis who sponsor charities and educational foundations that preach religious intolerance and hate toward the Western values have made their money from the petroleum industry or its subsidiaries. Osama bin Laden's wealth comes from the family's construction company that made its fortune from government contracts financed by oil money. It is also oil money that enables Saudi Arabia to invest approximately 40% of its income on weapons procurement.” Iran “If Saudi Arabia is the financial engine of radical Sunni Islam, its neighbor Iran is the powerhouse behind the proliferation of radical Shiite Islam. Iran, OPEC’s second largest oil producer, is holder of 10 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves and has the world’s second largest natural gas reserve. With oil and gas revenues constituting over 80 percent of its total export earning and 50 percent of its gross domestic product, Iran is heavily dependent on petrodollars. It is a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalism and supporter of some of the world’s most radical Islamic movements such as the Lebanese Hezbollah…As the world’s demand for oil increases, Iran grows richer --Iran’s oil revenues have jumped 25 percent in 2005…” [1] http://www.world-nuclear.org... [2] http://www.nei.org... [3] CAN. Nuclear Facts: Clean Air [4] http://www.niehs.nih.gov... [5] http://www.iags.org...