In this country, we must decide how to meet our energy needs. There are problems that must be addressed. The price of natural gas has quadrupled in the past year. New gas fueled electricity plants, which were the least expensive source of electricity, are now the most expensive. Natural gas supply will remain tight for the foreseeable future because the demand is increasing faster than supply, with accompanying price volatility depending on weather, and import availability from Canada and Mexico.
Oil is subject to serious overseas political problems, and costs that have gone up and down.
Nuclear energy, which has no significant emissions, can also be among the low cost energy sources, but it has political barriers to overcome. Similarly, anti-nuclear forces have unnecessarily delayed the construction of repositories for nuclear wastes. The electricity trap in which California now finds itself is a consequence of the national trends coming together this winter. Weather has increased demand in all the Western US, so California cannot depend on low cost electricity purchases from neighboring states. The recent electricity problems in California make it clear that we must take action to prevent future energy disasters.