How to Profit from News that Earthquakes Pose Greater Danger to Nuclear Plants

Greater use of alternative energy sources like solar and wind power may soon get a boost after an Associated Press report claimed that the threat of disaster caused by an earthquake hitting American nuclear power plant is much greater than previously believed. The report said that a review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that 27 nuclear reactors in the Eastern and Central United States may be in need of upgrades. The upgrades are necessary because the reactors are more likely to experience earthquakes stronger than the ones that they were originally designed to withstand. The latest bad news for the nuclear industry comes just months after the Nuclear accident in Japan caused by the powerful earthquake and tsunami that badly damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant and took much of Japan's refining capacity offline. That disaster prompted governments around the world to review the ability of their nuclear power plants to stand up against natural disasters. The AP report and the recent earthquakes in the United States and Japan should increase public interest in alternative energy sources. Besides the fact that they don't pose a threat to the environment, energy sources like wind and solar power are virtually unlimited and cannot be monopolized by any country or corporation. The biggest obstacle to more widespread use of alternative fuels has always been the cost but market prices of oil, coal and nuclear energy fail to factor in the economic cost of future disasters or the long-term damage that they will do to the environment. On the other hand, the prices of alternative energy sources fail to reflect how much better they are for the environment and the fact that supply is virtually unlimited. If there's anything that history has proven again and again, it's that natural disasters are inevitable. Whenever they strike, there is the potential for widespread environmental damage caused by fossil fuels or even nuclear waste spilling into the environment. Although nothing can be done to prevent natural disasters from occurring, wider use of alternative fuels would drastically reduce any possible harm to the environment. You'll never see a headline like, “Local windfarm badly damaged by hurricane, residents flee in terror”. When it comes to dirty sources of energy like oil and nuclear energy, human error may be an even bigger threat to the environment. Although the recent earthquakes in America and Japan have made the public all too aware that Mother Nature is as dangerous as ever, we must not forget the numerous oil spills and nuclear accidents that were caused by people being people. The best designed nuclear plant in the world is just one safety violation away from a disaster like Chernobyl and bad decisions by humans are sure to cause more devastating oil spills like the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez disasters. There's also a political risk associated with our traditional sources of energy. Global supply and prices of oil will be affected by the unrest in the Middle East for the foreseeable future and governments like the one in Russia led by Vladimir Putin will continue to use their control over energy sources as a political tool. So long as we're at the whim of Mother Nature, human error and foreign despots, there will always be a case for the use of alternative energy sources like solar and wind power. There are a number of ways to profit if alternative fuels become more attractive with each new disaster and crisis. There are many solar energy companies to choose from, among them are First Solar

, Hanwha SolarOne

and Trina Solar

. Advances in technology should drive these companies' costs down, while each environmental scare caused by natural disaster or human error will make governments give more consideration to solar energy as an important source of energy. Investors who would like to profit from any greater adaptation of alternative fuels but want to reduce the risk associated with investing in individual stocks may way want to take a look at the Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF

or the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index

. Like any other business, each company within the alternative energy sector faces the possibility of going bust. However, despite its ups and downs, the alternative energy sector is here to stay.