Soapbox Monday: Yea or nay on future nukes?

First came the earthquake that knocked out the power to Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. Then came the tsunami.

Now comes the inevitable questioning of the entire industry: Should the U.S. continue to pursue nuclear power?

That's the question today for the debut of a new feature of this blog: Soapbox Monday.

My plan is that it will be forum where anyone who wants to can sound off simply by posting a comment at the end of this blog.

But I won't make this week's question as easy as a simple yes or no. I'm looking for something more.

So:

If the U.S. SHOULDN'T build new nuclear power plants, how do you think the nation should meet its future energy needs?

If the U.S. SHOULD pursue building new plants, where should the money come from? And should there be safety precautions above and beyond what we have now?

I am eager to learn your thoughts.

P.S. Coming Friday, another new weekly feature: Green Gauntlet.  I'll describe a purported "green" product that's on the market, and you get to say whether it's hogwash.