Nuclear Energy

Attempts to control or reverse nuclear proliferation come in two flavors: Either one tries to control nuclear material (uranium, centrifuges, superfast switches) or one tries to control nuclear information (blueprints, schematics, scientific expertise). For most of the last half a century, the world has shunned the material approach in favor of controlling information. But information is extremely difficult to contain, as is made clear by the growing number of countries that have acquired nuclear weapons in the decades since the United States made the first atomic bomb, from the Soviet Union in 1949 to North Korea in 2006.

Global warming and rocketing oil prices are making nuclear power fashionable, drawing a once-demonized industry out of the shadows of the Chernobyl disaster as a potential model of clean energy. Britain is the latest nation to announce support for the construction of new nuclear power plants. Nuclear plants produces about 20% of Britain's electricity, but all but one are expected to close by 2023.

Thousands of canisters of highly radioactive waste from the world's most nuclear-energized nation lie, silent and deadly, beneath this jutting tip of Normandy. Above ground, cows graze and Atlantic waves crash into heather-covered hills. The spent fuel, vitrified into blocks of black glass that will remain dangerous for thousands of years, is in "interim storage."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday boasted that his country was nearing the "peak" of its efforts to unlock the secrets of the atom, and he again ruled out suspending the nuclear program. But another Iranian official revealed that Russia continues to withhold key equipment to get an almost-complete nuclear power plant near the Persian Gulf port of Bushehr up and running, evidence that Moscow retains important leverage with Tehran.

Looking back, Joseph Cosgrove said he was naive to think that Sen. Barack Obama could require that nuclear power plant operators publicly disclose any radioactive releases. Cosgrove and others who live and work in the hamlet of Godley, Ill., sought help after discovering years after the fact that there had been releases from the nearby Braidwood Generating Station. Two years later, Obama's legislation, lobbied by one of his largest corporate backers, has stalled.

Iran is testing an advanced centrifuge designed to more swiftly produce enriched uranium in defiance of Security Council resolutions ordering it to stop, diplomats confirmed Thursday. The centrifuges are still in the early testing stages, and are not being used to enrich nuclear material, said diplomats familiar with information from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

President Bush and European Union leaders threatened Iran on Tuesday with new financial sanctions unless the country curbs its nuclear ambitions and opens facilities to international inspection. After a two-hour meeting that also touched on other issues, Bush and his European counterparts indicated that they were prepared to go beyond current United Nations sanctions to try to ensure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon.

Parrying Sen. Barack Obama's attacks on Sen. John McCain's energy proposals in recent days, the McCain campaign has begun to invoke a little cinematic history, labeling Obama the "Dr. No" of energy. Dr. No, for those not up on their James Bond villains, was 007's antagonist in the 1962 film of the same name, the first in the Bond series. But he may be an odd choice if the McCain camp wants to portray Obama as a naysayer on energy innovation. In his own way, Dr.

The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard said the government might shut down vital oil lanes through the Persian Gulf if the country were attacked by the United States or Israel, according to a newspaper report Saturday. Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari warned that if there were any confrontation over Iran's nuclear program, Tehran would try to damage Western economies by targeting oil.

Despite the launch of its third special inspection in a year at Southern California Edison Co.'s San Onofre nuclear plant, federal regulators Thursday night assured the public that the coastal power plant is safe. About 100 residents and officials from nearby communities came to hear the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's annual report on the plant, located near San Clemente.