By Amy Harder

NationalJournal.com

Germany announced in May it will stop using nuclear power, in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi disaster. The French Senate recently voted to ban hydraulic fracturing, a controversial way to extract natural gas.

What lessons can the United States learn from these countries’ decisions? National news bears out the different perspectives: New Jersey recently announced a ban on fracking, while New York lifted its unofficial ban on the extraction method. No new nuclear power plants have been built in the U.S. in 30 years, but existing plants are coming under more intense scrutiny in the wake of Japan’s crisis.

Should the U.S. follow other nations’ lead in prohibiting certain types of energies and technologies because of their environmental and health risks? What can President Obama and Congress do to minimize these risks associated with energy production?

Continue reading four people (Henry Derwent: the President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA); David Holt: President, Consumer Energy Alliance; Jacqueline Savitz:Senior Scientist and Senior Campaign Director, Oceana; William O’Keefe: CEO, George C. Marshall Institute) take on this issue at Should America Follow Europe’s Lead on Energy?