John P. Holdren, Director White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said he sees nuclear power at part of the world’s energy future during a Monday talk at MIT. He offered a broad view of the world’s energy challenges before focusing on the viability of nuclear power as one way to address climate change.

Many people mistakenly believe that cost and supply are at the heart of the world’s energy problem. The real concerns, he said “stem from the economic, political and security risks of fossil fuel dependency and extend into a variety of environmental problems.”

He cited what he described as the two most challenging questions: “How we can reduce urban and regional air pollution despite growing demand from the transportation system?…How we provide affordable energy needed to create and sustain prosperity everywhere without wrecking the global climate?”

Taking a cue from former Vice President Al Gore, he then went through a series of slide outlining his perspective on what he calls “global climate disruption.” For an earlier version of virtually the same the slides, click here.  

The talk was the annual David J. Rose Lecture in Nuclear Technology sponsored by the MIT Department of Nuclear Science & Engineering. He said he agrees with the conclusion in the MIT’s recent report on "The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle," which sees nuclear power as part of the solution.

If nuclear power is to play a role, he said, costs and safety issues need to be addressed.

“Radioactive waste needs to be shown to be manageable … with the expectation off a problem-free permanent solution in the long term,” he said.  

Finally, he said he believes climate change deniers don’t understand the nature of science. Still the number of people who doubt the reality of climate change is growing. So scientists need to get their story out to the public, he said.

“We have to get better at explaining to people that the temperature of the earth is like the temperature of your body,” he said. “When you body temperature goes up, it is telling you that you have a problem.”