Energy - Our Global Issue

As the 21st Century progresses, not just America, not just Europe, not just Asia, the entire world faces a problem. This problem will shape everyone and everything. From the normal everyday routine of citizens to the world's elite, there is no escaping this problem. It touches all of us, no matter how free we believe we are. Energy is the problem, concern, and currency that will shape world events, systems, and governments. It is an issue that needs to be resolved globally
For the energy problem to be explicated, the issue of sustainability must be resolved. Sustainability is the ability to satisfy our needs today without damaging and destroying the needs of future generations. This means the solution we find must not only serve our generation and this period of history, it needs to last beyond the foreseeable future. We must implement a solution that is bountiful, reliable, clean, and sustainable. For our future, for our children's future, and for our children's, children's future, we must find this solution. Not only is this America's national self-interest, it is in our global interest.
Nation self-interest is the basis of all decisions of not only America, but all countries around the world. National self-interest is taking into consideration how policies, procedures and laws will affect the country's goals and ambitions. Usually nation self-interest pertains to a country's economic, military, and cultural concerns. All countries must realize it is in their national self-interest to solve our global energy problem.
Now that we have created a borderless economy in this world, decisions based on national self-interest are no longer pertinent. The flatness of the world has created an intertwined global web that unifies the entire planet. Countries must now realize that they cannot single handedly pursue issues; unilateral approaches will no longer succeed in this global economy. Countries must take a multilateral approach to issues that will define our history. Especially on issues that affect everyone. Especially issues like energy.
In order to sustain our current way of life and to support further growth in our world we need to change the way energy is supplied. We need to use every available resource of energy technology that will allow us to cut carbon emissions. We need to use wind; we need to use solar; we need to use hydroelectric; but most importantly we need to use nuclear power.
With the nuclear age being less than 70 years old, we need to shed the stereotypes that have tarnished the image of the industry. Issues such as waste, safety, and proliferation are real threats that need to be addressed, and can be solved easily within the global village. This is a global issue that affects every plant, animal, and human on the planet. This is an issue that needs a global response. If we are to mitigate climate change the global village must partake multilateral effort bring sustainability to our energy needs to through a huge expansion of nuclear power. Through this effort to expand nuclear power through multilateral action in the global village we must instinctively assess the risks that are associated with the expansion of nuclear power. Globally all countries must establish a code for dealing with plant safety, waste storage and recycling, and proliferation. If multilateral laws are set that requires each country to follow the same rules regarding nuclear energy then the risks associated with nuclear energy can be rendered obsolete.
World codes will need to be set for the security of power plants. The safety of the entire planet depends on it. Even though it is extremely unlikely that a nuclear power plant will melt down, accidents happen. It is in our best interest that every security measure that can possibly be done to secure the safety of the power plants needs to be done, and more.
All countries would need to devise a collective effort to properly store nuclear waste. Failure to do so could cause events of catastrophic across the globe. By creating a system like this it would automatically increase our interdependence. If one country allowed their waste to fall into the wrong hands nuclear proliferation would bring the entire globe to its knees. That is why we need a complete multilateral approach to nuclear energy, so we will be able to set up standard waste storage facilities for every country. Also to extend the life of these storage facilities we need to collectively develop efficient recycling and reprocessing plants that could safely turn spent fuel into reusable fuel. These facilities would need to have a tighter security then an actual power plant. Efficiency would be part of the security measures. The faster waste is processed the shorter amount of time it has to fall into the wrong hands.
Nuclear proliferation is a real threat. All strategies to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons capabilities to aggressive and unstable nations must be exercised. This is one of the main sticking point of the expansion of nuclear energy. It needs to be dealt with seriously. We need to be able to guarantee the safety of not only Americans, but we need to guarantee the safety of the entire world.
There are many organizations that would like to diffuse any efforts to expand the use of nuclear power. Such organization like the Union of concerned Scientists (UCS), International atomic energy Agency (IAEA), Bellona, and WWF would like nothing better than to see efforts to expand cheap, reliable, and sustainable nuclear energy to fall flat on its face.
To conquer this global issue of global warming and rising energy demands we must concentrate on the supply side of energy. The global village must be able to produce more clean and sustainable energy then we currently demand. This is imperative so that we can keep energy costs low, and be able to plan and adjust to the growth of developed and developing economies. If we fail to create this sustainability and area for growth, our economies we eventually fail underneath the pressures of astronomical prices and shortages for food, water, and energy.
It is my assessment, after reading varying view points on nuclear energy expansion, that given the current feasible technology, nuclear is the way to energy sustainability and reduction of green house gases. We need nuclear energy as a global village; we need to sustain our planet for future generations; we need to make the world pro-growth and pro-equality through equal energy opportunities. For a global energy and climate crisis, we need a global reaction. We need global solution. We need global nuclear energy.