Standing watch on the USCGC Polar Sea as we sailed toward the Arctic pack ice, I was introduced to global warming and the retreat of the polar ice cap. Perhaps I had heard of it before 1994. But the beautiful, seemingly barren expanses of ice cemented forever in my mind the comments of LCDR Powers as he explained how the ice had retreated substantially over the years he had sailed in the Arctic.Diving under the ice to collect samples for the National Science Foundation, we entered a realm of unparalleled beauty. The formidable view from the surface, where the polar bear watch stands with a rifle, belies the beautiful world of cathedral domes and tunnels in the frigid arctic water below.Perhaps it’s this nostalgia which has caused me to argue against drilling in the Arctic in the past.  Maybe my past experience has caused me to side with the proponents of climate change and clean energy.Nine years of commercial diving in the Gulf of Mexico has caused me to despise the petroleum industry’s methods and lack of concern for the environment. Without current government regulations, they would be happy to leave our world in a state of disrepair for our descendents – as long as it returns a profit. Whatever my inclination, one thing is clear  our world as we know it is changing regardless of the veracity of the climate change argument.The executive summary for the International Energy Agency’s “World Energy Outlook – 2008” concludes: “We can be certain that the energy world will look a lot different in 2030 than it does today. The world energy system will be transformed, but not                        necessarily in the way we would like to see.”In December, international leaders will meet in Copenhagen to attempt to hammer out a solution to our energy and climate crisis, which many argue is already at hand. There is an international push to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Whether or not you believe in global climate change does not alter the fact — and it is a fact — we are destroying our environment through extensive use of fossil fuel. The need for petroleum will not disappear quickly. The U.S. is currently the No. 1 consumer of petroleum products at 19.5 million barrels per day, compared to China (No. 2) which consumes 7.8 million barrels per day, according to the Energy Information Administration.Petroleum is a limited resource, and there is a need to develop alternative energy sources. But, an imminent crisis of global oil supply is questionable and ultimately unlikely.”Peak world conventional crude oil production could plausibly occur anywhere between 2021 at a volume of 48.5 billion barrels per year and 2112 at a volume of 24.6 billion barrels per year, though neither of these extremes has a substantial probability of occurrence,” according to the Energy Information Administration, using data from the USGS.Regardless, we need to use this time wisely. It is imperative we work to implement energy policy which encourages innovation. It is of equal importance we increase our use of nuclear power.  Nuclear energy is an important key to unlocking our energy independence.According to the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, France produces 78 percent of its gross electricity generation with nuclear power. Nuclear power in the U.S., by comparison, produces only 19 percent.”The basic energy fact is that the fission of an atom of uranium produces 10 million times the energy produced by the combustion of an atom of carbon from coal,” writes John McCarthy, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science at Stanford University on his Web site “Progress and its Sustainability.”With the massive strides in nuclear safety and technology, nuclear power needs to be a much larger portion of our energy portfolio. Continued emphasis placed on the development of petroleum-free power within the transportation sector may also enable us to stretch our petroleum reserves until a time when they are no longer needed.Nathan Shull is a 35-year-old finance junior from Seattle.  Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nshull—-Contact Nathan Shull at [email protected]