In a speech in Springfield, MO, yesterday John McCain called for the nation to get back into the nuclear power business and find a way to make coal cleaner.

Sen. John McCain called Wednesday for the construction of 45 new nuclear reactors by 2030 and pledged $2 billion a year in federal funds “to make clean coal a reality,” measures designed to reduce dependence on foreign oil.

In a second straight day of campaigning devoted to the energy issue, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting also said the only time Democratic rival Barack Obama voted for a tax cut was for a “break for the oil companies.”

McCain said the 104 nuclear reactors currently operating around the country produce about 20 percent of the nation’s annual electricity needs.

“Every year, these reactors alone spare the atmosphere from the equivalent of nearly all auto emissions in America. Yet for all these benefits, we have not broken ground on a single nuclear plant in over thirty years,” he said. “And our manufacturing base to even construct these plants is almost gone.”

Even so, he said he would set the country on a course to build 45 new ones by 2030, with a longer-term goal of adding another 55 in the future.

“We will need to recover all the knowledge and skills that have been lost over three stagnant decades in a highly technical field,” he conceded.

My husband worked for a nuclear power plant for over 20 years, and we know how safe it is. We have at least three nuclear power plants almost in our backyard and I live in no fear of them.

If we can get the politicians to agree to allow more nuclear energy we can take care of our electricity needs. The same thing for coal if we can find a way to make it cleaner, but you know what? When I was a girl everyone burned coal and somehow we all lived through it.

If we can get the federal politicians and the state officials involved we can drill for oil 50 miles off our own coasts and in ANWR. In fact, those in the ANWR region would love to have us drill there. It may be “pristine”, but who gets to see it? The caribou will survive as the area being talked about is about the size of South Carolina and ANWR is much larger than that.

We have taken going green to the extreme, while those who espouse its values are using more and more energy than before. I read just yesterday that, despite trying to “green up” his house, Al Gore is using 10% more energy than he used last year. And he’s the world face of conservation. If memory serves me he is using as much energy in one month at his house as 20 houses would use in a month.

For just him and Tipper? They must have one heck of a Christmas display in December!

It may seem like it, but I’m not picking on Al Gore. As far as I’m concerned he’s yesterday’s news, but for a man to accept a Nobel Peace prize, grammy and Academy Award by espousing energy savings it just seems a bit hypocritical to me.

Let’s listen to what McCain says and try to implement it instead of talking it to death. This applies even if Obama is elected. We have an energy crisis in our country and it is not caused by our President. It has been caused by past congresses, governors and presidents. The game is up and people are having to choose whether to stay warm, drive to the grocery store, or even get groceries because some nut has convinced the farmers to grow corn for ethanol, which is even more expensive than gasoline.

It’s time for us to be Americans and stand up to the challenge. We can do it!