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"Just once, it would be nice if a president would level with Americans on energy. Barack Obama isn't that president. His speech the other night was about political damage control -- his own. It was full of misinformation and mythology. Obama held out a gleaming vision of an America that would convert to the "clean" energy of, presumably, wind, solar and biomass. It isn't going to happen for many, many decades, if ever. For starters, we won't soon end our "addiction to fossil fuels." Oil, coal and natural gas supply about 85 percent of America's energy needs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects energy consumption to grow only an average of 0.5 percent annually from 2008 to 2035, but that's still a 14 percent cumulative increase. Fossil fuel usage would increase slightly in 2035 and its share would still account for 78 percent of the total. "

A subsidy represents a transfer of Federal Government resources to the buyer or seller of a good or service that has the effect of reducing the price paid, increasing the price received, or reducing the cost of production of the good or service. Put simply, the Federal Government promotes targeted energy outcomes, such as production of a specific fuel or promotion of conservation and energy efficiency by energy consumers through incentives such as tax credits, grants, and low interest loans.

Nuclear energy is a radioactive topic. Depending whom you talk to, it's either a clean, sustainable fuel source providing ample homespun electricity, or an expensive, dirty and dangerous gamble as outdated as the Cold War. This debate's roots run deep, having electrified conversation since the nuclear-energy boom of the 1970s, when most of America's nuclear plants rose from the gravel and began churning out power for the growing population. The average nuclear reactor produces enough electricity each year to power 740,000 households (equivalent to 13.7 million barrels of oil). While no new nuclear plants have been licensed to be built in the United States for about 30 years, the country's 66 existing plants, and their 104 reactors, continue to generate about 19 percent of its electricity. Many of these reactors are now reaching the end of their 40-year licensing agreements, and the era of global warming and fickle gas prices is leading a new generation to reconsider nuclear energy. In response, many power-plant operators are requesting 20-year license renewals and completing applications for new plants. Here's a quick 101 on nuclear energy, to help inform your debate.