for the use of the fuel, might be in the interest of the
United States. Nation’s with only peaceful intentions
for nuclear energy would likely benefit by such provi-
sions. Nations which refuse to accept or comply with
these provisions could lose the cover to pursue an il-
licit nuclear weapons program that the NPT currently
provides. Finally, to further address the viability of a
world nuclear fuel bank and to improve upon the cur-
rent public safety and energy security situations, the
United States must decide and act upon a long-term
storage solution for spent nuclear fuel.
Summary
This paper has endeavored to continue Professor
Einstein’s work to “carry to our fellow citizens an un-
derstanding of the simple facts of atomic energy and
its implications to society” (Einstein 1946). In examin-
ing the relevance that nuclear energy has with regard
to U.S. national security, a broad exploration of the na-
tional security interest areas of energy independence,
energy security, climate change, economics, public
safety, and nuclear terrorism and proliferation was
conducted, along with sustainability considerations
for each. From a systems perspective, it was evident
that these six areas were often interrelated. Both di-
rect and indirect ties where presented relating nuclear
energy to national security. I believe that all six of the
national security interest areas would be advanced by:
- substantially expanding capacity for nuclear power
generation within the United States, along with 2)
providing worldwide leadership to ensure that the
positive contributions of “benign” nuclear energy are
enjoyed and the negative aspects are mitigated. Three
recommendations for actions beneficial to implement-
ing this position were offered.