Nuclear

My physics professor used the following analogy in support of nuclear energy, in criticism of those who cite half-lives in their opposition to nuclear power. He likened long half-life nuclear waste to a dripping spigot. If a sample of material has a half-life of 10,000 years, then it has a spigot that is leaking radiation VERY slowly and therefore unlikely to cause anyone any harm. It's the high energy, short half-life wastes that are the true threat, and these decay into longer lasting elements within a human's lifetime, generally speaking. It is within our power technologically to contain these elements while they are at their most threatening.

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