The US currently gets about 20% of its electricity from nuclear power, but many argue we’ll need to get much more, really soon.

One of those people is Obama’s Secretary of Energy. Steven Chu, who has said that Americans should look at nuclear “with new eyes.” He and others say climate change has made the quest for clean energy an urgent national priority. “New eyes” or no—old questions about cost, safety, and proliferation continue to cloud the nuclear picture.

No nuclear plants have been built in the United States for 30 years, and private investors don’t seem willing to go near new nuclear projects. So what’s a nuclear-friendly administration to do? Public support for nuclear energy has increased in recent years, but many are still uneasy with the idea of taxpayer support for the expensive industry—especially in the midst of an economic downturn. Today we’ll talk with industry experts, anti-nuclear activists, and you.

Connecticut gets half it’s electricity from nuclear energy. What do you think? Is nuclear part of the solution---or just another big problem?