The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was concerned Iran was revving up its nuclear facilities for some good-old fashioned weapon making, so it issued an edict of cease and desist. As you might imagine, the folks in Iran are not pleased.
Iran claims it has every right to pursue nuclear power, as atomic energy is a relatively clean and efficient way to generate electricity. Seems like a reasonable argument to me. Why should only a select few countries be permitted to reap the benefits of nuclear power? Unfortunately, the subject of uranium is bathed in gray.
At the heart of the issue is the popular backyard pastime of Uranium Enrichment. You may have tried it back when you were a kid, with mixed success. Today it seems like everybody’s getting into it. The North Koreans. the Iranians. Martha Stewart. Wait. I think Martha may actually be more into geraniums. I'll need to check my source on that to be sure. Anyhow, this is a delicate issue because uranium enrichment isn’t a game. It’s playing God with nature and can have potentially devastating consequences. Let’s discuss uranium for a moment, shall we? It'll be fun, I promise. And you'll learn something really cool!
It’s simple. Uranium is a very heavy, dense metal that’s found in most rocks. It pretty common, actually – as abundant as tin and tungsten in the earth’s surface. It is believed uranium was formed in a supernova billions of years ago, but it wasn't discovered until 1789 - by some unimaginative German who named it after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered 8 years earlier. It's powerful potential would not be fully realized or appreciated until the 20th century, after squads of meddlesome and enterprising physicists figured out how to tamper with the building blocks of matter. Now it's at the center of global politics as an element of concern.
Uranium's radioactive decay is what makes it so special. In fact, this decay is what provides the main source of heat inside our planet’s core. Of course, I could be making that up for all you know. But I’m not. Really. Go look it up. On the scale of naturally occurring elements, where Helium is the lightest, Uranium is the heaviest. And when the nucleus of a Uranium atom is split (this is called fission), energy is produced in the form of heat. A chain reaction of atoms splitting can create a whole lot of heat with very little uranium. This heat is then used to make steam, which generates electricity. It’s all very simple, really. I did it in my bathtub once with some Brillo pads and a home Fission kit.
Did you know that one nuclear reactor can provide enough electricity for a million people? In fact, the fission from a single atom of uranium produces 10 million times the energy produced by the combustion of an atom of carbon from coal. Yeah – uranium is an extremely powerful power source.
Most people don’t realize how important nuclear energy has become. Ten years ago, the U.S. had 109 licensed power reactors that generated about 20% of our country’s electricity. With supplies of natural resources increasingly in question, many believe nuclear energy represents the most reliable future source of energy. It’s also better for the environment. In 2003, 83% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions resulted from the combustion of fossil fuels like coal, petroleum and natural gas. Emission-free, nuclear-generated electricity, on the other hand, spares the release of nearly 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide EACH YEAR. 
The benefits of nuclear power are not a secret. Plenty of other countries use nuclear power to generate much higher percentages of their nation’s electricity than the US. In France, 78% of their electricity is nuclear. In Sweden, 50%. All in all, over 16% of the world’s electricity is a product of uranium. So why can’t Iran enrich uranium to provide electricity? Is it because highly enriched uranium can also be used to make powerful weapons? Not exactly. It’s because nobody trusts they won’t do it.
Some people, like me, can’t help but wonder why they’d need nuclear power when they’re sitting on top of one of the world’s largest oil reserves. They’ve got secure access to more natural resources than they could possibly ever use – and they’re building a nuclear reactor to generate electricity? You don't need an abacus to know something doesn't add up.
Magnanimously, the UN didn’t demand Iran quit uranium cold turkey. Instead, they’ve been given until September to lay off the atomic shit. So Iran is on the uranium patch.
My guess is that they’re not going to comply. And then sanctions will be imposed, after which the Iranian people will grow resentful of the “oppressive” world community. The threat of force will follow, and they’ll thumb their noses with nationalist pride at the Security Council…just as Saddam Insane had done. As tensions rise, Iran will declare all atomic operations suspended, and lodge a series of formal objections before the General Assembly. Inspection teams will be deployed to determine if they’re secretly producing weapons-grade fuel, but evidence will be harder to find than a good review of the Dukes of Hazzard movie. Hans Blix will write a book. Richard Butler will write a book. Jimmy Carter will pray for peace. George Bush will declare Iran a grave and gathering "NUKULAR" threat that must be confronted before it is too late. Michael Moore will stop eating to start his next big project: an answer to Morgan Spurlock’s “Supersize Me” in which he eats nothing but salads and fish for 30 days, losing half his weight including the massive the chip on his shoulder.
And you and I will continue to pay $2.76 per gallon for gas because big business refuses to explore alternative sources of energy. Like uranium.
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