This article was written in response to increased calls to use nuclear power during the California energy crisis in the early 2000s. The article answers the question, can nuclear power solve the energy crisis? According to the authors, nuclear power is too costly, risky, and inefficient to be an answer to the country’s energy problems. Nuclear plants are too slow to build to solve any immediate energy needs and they are too costly to be a competitive option in the energy marketplace. Proponents of nuclear power fail to consider the high risks associated with nuclear power and the cheaper, more efficient nonnuclear options that are in the marketplace. The authors argue that taking markets seriously and not propping up failed technologies at public expense offers a stable climate, a prosperous economy, and a cleaner and more peaceful world.