Within minutes of Wednesday’s unexpected half point interest rate cut by Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve, you could almost hear the Wall Street investment bankers striking up the band for a rousing rendition of "Happy Days are Here Again."

Never mind the fact that the instant euphoria and 300 point Dow Jones gain could not sustain themselves for longer than one trading session.

Those far more astute on money matters than myself have described Greenspan’s decision as the desperate actions of a desperate man. Whether the boost to borrowing can forestall the market’s impending plunge into oblivion remains to be seen. But following close on the heels of warnings by President-elect George W. Bush that America could be sliding into a recession, Greenspan was making a clear statement. He has one or two cards left to play and may still be positioning himself as an indispensable component in any future Bush financial success.

That said, there may be another, less obvious reason for Greenspan to pull back on the financial stick before the imminent crash.

The word from out west is not good.

We’ve been reporting for several weeks now about the power shortages in California and up the West Coast. Black outs and brown outs are predicted. Fuel costs have been multiplying and are out of control. More than one utility was in deep financial trouble. And there were serious concerns the crisis was about to spread to other sectors of the left coast economy.

By lowering the prime rate, the Fed is making it possible for the threatened utilities to lower their costs of borrowing and is quite literally pulling that sector back from the brink of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The larger question is…how did Pacific Gas and Electric and California Edison reach this pitiful state?

For that, we must take a look at what "political correctness" has done to pour gasoline on the fire.

For decades, ecological fears and liberal legislative efforts have stymied the development of legitimate power generation sources like nuclear power. As a result, utilities were forced to rely on off-beat alternatives. One example is the use of biomass power plants, which burn waste products and wood chips left over from logging, construction and agriculture.

Just this week, a U.S. Forest Service decision to prevent logging on federal lands in eastern California for the next 90 days has forced the Honey Lake biomass power plant to shut down.

Even hydroelectric power plants have been affected by water shortages in the west.

Imagine how different the energy picture might be today if the power of the atom had been properly harnessed in California. Rather than chewing up precious non-renewable energy sources like coal, gas or oil, which have other indispensable uses to keep our economy rolling, the utilities could be drawing power from a virtually limitless supply of processed plutonium.

One industry analyst suggests we currently have enough atomic fuel to supply all of America’s electrical needs for the next 500 years. Rather than burying the radioactive materials from our decommissioned nuclear weapons, we could put them to work and cut the cost of energy to the bone.

Nuclear power plants designed and built in the U.S. and throughout the western world are incredibly safe with multiple failsafe mechanisms built-in to prevent tragedies like the Chernobyl disaster.

Indeed, the financial meltdown awaiting our economy could have been prevented had our legislators been willing to look past the protest signs and liberal political action committees and considered what was best for America.

We can’t change the past, but we can build a "brighter" future by mending our ways and reconsidering the obvious advantages of reliance on nuclear power.

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