Nuclear energy is news again. It has always been an issue for some people – environmental activists and energy industry groups – but nuclear power has largely faded from public consciousness, despite periodic incidents that highlighted fears of a catastrophic mishap at a nuclear power plant. The luxury of indifference is about to end, however. New political and economic pressures will force countries to make some hard choices about nuclear energy. The contradictions between government policy and public sentiment are going to become more salient in the decades ahead.