As we attempt to pass a climate change bill (we = Congress on this one), it seems like the Republican party can’t get enough nuclear power in the legislation. In fact, The New Republic (TNR) reports that when it comes to alternative energy, some lawmakers on the right feel that nuclear power is the only way to go. The Republican energy plan, for example, calls for 100 new reactors built by 2030, a figure TNR states is “twice as many as even the most optimistic industry forecasts envision.” Yes, we’re not entirely sure why, but Republicans see nuclear as the magic bullet.

And now, there are more and more signals that the Democratic leaders are willing to cede ground on the nuclear issue. As noted briefly last month, Senator John Kerry co-authored a New York Times op/ed with Republican Lindsey Graham, in which they noted that any climate change bill should have provisions to ramp up nuclear power as a source of energy. And TNR quotes President Obama saying last month in a Town Hall meeting, “There’s no reason why, technologically, we can’t employ nuclear power in a safe and effective way.” Furthermore, Barbara Boxer, as co-sponsor of the Senate climate change bill, “a few small provisions on things like training new nuclear engineers” into the bill.

Of course, nuclear power isn’t cheap ($6-10 billion per reactor), private investors are hard to come by, and Democrats may want something in return for acceding to Republicans’ nuclear demands. But the point is, while we many not be witnessing a sea change in public opinion on nuclear power just yet, it seems as if the right and left are getting closer together on the issue.

photo credit: benuski’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons