There’s also the value of being able to have power during a rolling blackout— which is itself a function of the reliability of the power grid. Driving a Prius puts less emissions in the air per mile traveled, affecting the air quality in your own area, which may be more valuable to you than equivalent carbon credits (which only apply to the planetary balance). Both of them provide a certain amount of insulation from fluctuations in energy prices.

One thing I’d like to see more of is cost-benefit analyses to compare different spending choices. What is the cost per kilowatt-hour of nuclear energy once you factor in building the plant, mining the fuel, refining it, protecting the plant during operation, and disposing of the waste in a manner people find acceptable? How does it compare to the cost of creating solar cells or wind turbines, acquiring the land to put them on, and settling any ecological impact issues? Similarly, do you add more person-years of healthy life for a given amount of spending by vaccinating children and providing good nutrition in schools or by increasing funding for Medicare? We should be picking the low-hanging fruit first, and I find it frustrating that it’s so rare for anyone to provide that perspective on choices.