There were things in Obama’s State of the Union speech that I found disappointing.
He listed several energy sources, including wind, solar, clean coal, bio fuel, and as almost an after-thought, nuclear. Many politicians who know that nuclear is essential have permitted themselves to become so intimidated by “environmentalists” (as opposed to environmentalists) that they are afraid even to mention nuclear.
A few months ago, I had a meeting with representative Heinrich (D, NM). He has a degree in mechanical engineering and is well equipped to understand energy issues. In talking to him, it seemed clear that he was well aware that nuclear energy is essential yet, in his printed material and speeches, he won’t even mention it.
Also a few months ago, I was at the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History here in Albuquerque. One of the museum executives (whose name and exact position I shall not mention) insisted that to deal with our energy problems, we will need to implement ALL energy sources, including wind, solar, clean coal hydro, micro hydro, and nuclear.
Obviously it makes no sense to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on energy sources which are impractical. We know that nuclear is practical, that it can and should be made more so, yet our government decision makers are afraid to mention it, including those who are well informed and know full well that nuclear power is essential to provide most of the energy for the U.S. and the rest of the world.
It is possible that if Obama spoke up clearly and directly about our energy problems and made it clear that nuclear power must provide most of our energy, that he could change attitudes and get us on a more reasonable energy path.
The other thing I found disappointing in his speech was what he said about education. He is correct that our primary and secondary schools are far behind international standards and that improvement is essential if we are to compete effectively with other countries. I even agree with him that the solution is not to spend more money. He put considerable emphasis on mathematics and science. Of course we should greatly improve education in mathematics and science, but he totally omitted others subjects which are also important. We need high school and college graduates that have a better understanding of the world around them and a better understanding of other people and cultures. That requires teaching history, geography, sociology, languages, psychology, economics, various religions, and the other subjects that are required to produce well-rounded graduates who are able to think clearly, critically, and objectively. It also requires encouraging life-long education.
So, although there were parts of Obama’s speech that I did like, I was very disappointed that he failed to delineate a reasonable energy policy and failed to emphasize the importance of teaching subjects other than mathematics and science.