Every technology has pros & cons, effects & residues.

Coal : Effect/Pros - Energy/Cheap. Residue/Cons - C02/GlobalWarming

Nuclear : Effect/Pros - Energy/Clean. Residue/Cons - RadioactiveWaste/Contamination.

Where do the nuclear byproducts go currently ? Into the earth? Rivers? Oceans?

30 years ago, we switched from paper based products to plastic, to save trees. Today, we want to switch from plastic based products to paper, to avoid pollution.

Every 'switch' will come with side-effects that the current generation is fine with, because they're not going to be ones dealing with it.