Nuclear plants have two benefits from this point of view, they add needed electric power and they free up fossil fuels to be used to other purposes (like transportation). It's an irresistible attraction. Decommissioning plants and dealing with waste will be the next generation's problems. We won't be here to worry about it so why not do what maximizes our immediate benefits.
As is pointed frequently there is no pressure group from the unborn.
Without a commitment for sacrifice and change by the average person quick and dirty solutions will win out.
If you don't want this to happen you need to come up with an argument which provides a current benefit, not a future one. Policies not Politics ---- Daily Landscape
In Britain, that would not mean transportation but only heating. However, electricity is such a small part of energy usage that the other side of Peak Oil will eliminate this surplus before those ten new nuclear plants are in service - and force the lifestyle change anyway. Meanwhile, you wasted a lot of tax money.
quick and dirty solutions will win out.
As per above, the fun with nuclear is that it is dirty but not quick. It also needs the State or large corporations to push it (which is a given in Bliar's Britain, see my top-level comment). *Lunatic*, n. One whose delusions are out of fashion.
