With the 35th anniversary of Earth Day recently passed, memories of slogans and bumper stickers like “spilt wood, not atoms” come to mind. Yet as we ponder rising energy costs and growing concerns over global warming, we soon face major choices.

When I was a Berkeley student in the 1960s, I was interested in nuclear power and took a course in nuclear engineering. I was surprised to find that the field was no longer “cutting edge” -- and came away with the impression that all the really hard problems had been solved.

We fully understood the basics of nuclear physics. What remained were incremental improvements and some concerns about the long-term effects of radiation on material strength and stability. This did not sound very exciting to me, and as a consequence I chose not to pursue nuclear engineering as a career, but rather completed my Ph.D. in astrophysics.

This turned out to be a good career choice -- but not for the reasons that I expected. The nuclear industry, at least in the U.S., has had a difficult history. The growth anticipated in the 1960s did not materialize. In fact, a new nuclear power plant has not been built in the U.S. in more than 25 years.

What I did not anticipate then were the problems that have surfaced and confront us today: nuclear waste management, environmental contamination, safety, proliferation, and terrorism, among others. Of little concern then, they cast a huge shadow on the future of nuclear energy today.

These are challenging problems. Are these problems worth pursing, or should we simply abandon the prospects of nuclear power and seek other alternatives to the looming energy crisis? Do we have this choice?

While the U.S. has eschewed nuclear power and continues to rely on fossil fuels, other countries have taken the path I abandoned at Berkeley. Let’s face it -- the genie is out of the bottle. No energy policy is going to put it back in the bottle or make it go away.

Nuclear power plants abound in Japan and northern Europe, and are growing in number in China, India, and other Asian nations. Whether we care to exploit nuclear energy or not, other countries are. The problems that it raises concern all of us.

Many readers may suspect that I am an anti-environmental mad scientist with an insane passion for nuclear energy -- and perhaps a lobbyist for the nuclear power industry as well. Nope, as a scientist with a bright Green stripe, I view nuclear energy as an option that we cannot summarily dismiss. It’s one of many options that we should use in combination with others to address the global demand for energy. In the broadest terms, we are already inextricably reliant on nuclear power; but thanks to a few of nature’s basic physical principles, we appreciate the benefits at minimal risk.

Our sun is by far the biggest nuclear power plant in the neighborhood. Factors such as distance (93 million miles), the earth’s magnetic field, and its atmosphere shield us from most harmful radiation. Our entire ecosystem depends on this energy supply, either directly or indirectly. The energy we derive from oil and other fossil fuels, as well as wind power and solar panels, all relates back to the sun.

We should not indiscriminately build nuclear power plants in remote locations. Nor should we turn all our attention to nuclear as the ultimate and exclusive solution to our energy needs. I do propose, however, that we take a more open-minded view to all forms of energy and work on the hard, compelling problems.

Science and technology are agnostic. They can help us understand the implications of alternative actions and make ethical and moral choices.

While nuclear energy has daunting technical and policy dimensions, ignoring our nuclear potential is not a responsible option. A forward-looking, realistic energy policy must balance the political, economic, environmental, and safety concerns that currently obscure an effective discourse and impede our progress.

On the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, I’ve recycled my interest in nuclear power. I urge you to join me in exploring the multiple dimensions of its potential.