Much to the chagrin of many environmentalists (among others), nuclear power is making a comeback as nations scramble to find zero-emission sources of energy. The Washington Post reported that at least 40 countries have told the UN that they are interested in developing nuclear energy programs.

Until relatively recently, only the US, Russia, and a handful of European nations actually enriched uranium, and countries with nuclear reactors would purchase the material from them, keeping the production of weapons-grade material in the hands of a few. Now that so many other countries are looking to enrich their own uranium there is concern that the true motives of most of these countries is to develop their own nuclear weapons.

When you consider that many of the enrichment-happy countries include oil rich Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; the rather poor Yemen and Jordan; and Egypt and Turkey, who had both dropped their nuclear power programs decades ago, something doesn't sit right. Hmmm, all of these countries are neighbors and/or rivals with Iran, who has also promised to enrich uranium for power and not wiping out Israel.

Those who follow such things believe that we are seeing the beginning of an arms race in the Middle East that will soon get out of control if a non-proliferation agreement isn't signed. Others are less concerned, saying that the whole thing is little more than insurance for these nations, and the fact that they have proclaimed to be interested in nuclear power is little more than a deterrent to keep Iran other nations from thinking about attacking them.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said that it has not seen so much interest in nuclear power since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. We guess 22 years is enough time to forget how exceedingly dangerous nuclear power can be. And, regardless of the true intentions of a nation, the world has yet to find a safe, long-term solution to waste disposal. Heck, the nation that invented atomic energy over 60 years ago still hasn't found a permanent storage site for waste. We just want to stress that solar panels and wind turbines are not associated with doing this to wildlife.