Steps forward and back for the world's nukes

My household has no less than three nightlights that give good service to me and mine. Perhaps you have a nightlight or two yourself. And beyond those useful little devices, of course, there are the regular lights that a person may switch on in the middle of a windless night.

Those basic facts highlight the idea that we all have need for electrical power in the grid at times that solar and wind can't help us. The kind of electricity we need at all times is what utilities call "baseload power."

We get baseload power from burning coal and natural gas, from running generators at hydroelectric dam...