9 great reads from CNET this week: Nuclear power, broadband redlining, Switch drift and more

Ask anybody about nuclear power and, before too long, you’re bound to hear the word “disaster.” As in Fukushima, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island. Nuclear power has a reputation that’s hard to overlook, and there are real dangers tied to it.

But there are dangers, too, in continuing to burn the fossil fuels that drive the modern world — from illnesses and deaths caused by pollution to greenhouse gases that contribute to a mounting climate catastrophe. Green energy sources like solar and wind are positive forces, but insufficient. That’s where nuclear power has an opening, and it’s the subject of an in-depth look by CNET’s Daniel Van Boom.

His story is among the in-depth features and commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don’t want to miss:

Many have committed to carbon neutrality, but few have a plan of how to get there. Nuclear power can help. 

Communities that couldn’t get mortgage loans in the 1940s are the same areas without fast home internet service today. There’s no easy fix.  

We’ve drifted apart.

The industry can’t stop cheerleading the rise of 5G despite an experience that isn’t materially better than 4G.  

They’re slow, monochromatic and kind of expensive. I still love any gadget with a big E Ink screen.  

It’s too dry and too acidic for microbial life to exist above the surface of the hellacious planet, according to a new study.

How I learned to stop worrying and love America’s greatest modern action-movie series in time for Fast and Furious 9.

Building a better encyclopedia requires consensus and neutrality, but behind the scenes, editors wrangle with the pandemic’s most contentious question. 

Commentary: Are iMessage and FaceTime really that important to have?