To reach energy independence — a notion that has been ballyhooed inside the walls of Congress for half a century — the United States must be able to tap into all viable energy resources.

Oil on or directly off our shores must be explored. Natural gas exploration should be ramped up. Clean coal, solar and windmill technology must be improved and expanded. And nuclear energy should play a major role in finally reaching a goal of energy-independence.

No power source draws the emotions — and the subsequent hysterics — as nuclear power.

Three weeks after a 9.0-magnitude earthquake set off a massive tsunami that decimated northeast Japan, nuclear officials there are still struggling to get under control the Fukishima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Fears in Japan spread quickly to fears in the United States. The “what if” scenarios played out on local and national media outlets.

At Grand Gulf Nuclear Station in Claiborne County, officials were asked repeatedly could their plant be subject to the same fate as the plants in Japan. Parts of Northwest Mississippi fall into the direct line of the New Madrid fault line, the closest earthquake zone to Grand Gulf.

The largest earthquake to hit Mississippi in the past century occurred in 1931, as recorded by the U.S. Geological Service. The USGS reported that the magnitude 4.6 quake struck north central Mississippi on Dec. 16, 1931.

“Several chimneys were thrown down at Charleston, and the walls and foundation of the Agricultural High School were cracked. Minor damage to chimneys also occurred at Tillatoba and Water Valley; several buildings were damaged slightly and plaster fell at Belzoni,” the USGS reported.

Entergy spokesmen have said they are more concerned about hurricanes and tornadoes than earthquakes. No matter the natural disaster, there must be due diligence to the safety of the plant and the people who populate the area. There must be evacuation plans in place in anticipation of the worst.

What cannot be lost is that Grand Gulf produces 1,265 megawatts of power and helps service 45 Mississippi counties. Plans are in the works, Entergy announced in 2009, to increase output at Grand Gulf by 13 percent. Mississippi customers, company officials said, would see a 53 megawatt increase, enough to power 53,000 homes, Entergy said.

Entergy Mississippi customers pay for one-third of Grand Gulf and receive one-third of the energy produced at Grand Gulf. The remaining two-thirds is owned by sister companies in Arkansas, Louisiana and New Orleans.

Nuclear power, especially in today’s global society where demand for energy is at an all-time high, will be a crucial element in finding the answer to the 50-year-old question of reaching energy independence.

Risks will exist in the exploration or harvesting of any energy source. But dictating energy policy on “what-ifs” will prove to be the biggest risk of them all.