CNN) -- The recent history of the U.S. nuclear industry suggests that nuclear power can be a safe source of low-carbon electricity. But disasters can happen very quickly, with potentially cataclysmic results.

The loss of coolant, explosions and apparent partial meltdown of nuclear plants in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami remind us that nuclear power is inherently risky. The U.S. government and the nuclear industry must take new actions to ensure that nuclear power is safe for the American public. New nuclear reactors are phenomenally expensive, costing up to $10 billion dollars apiece. Exelon CEO John Rowe said recently that the combination of low natural gas prices and failure of Congress to put a price on carbon dioxide pollution pushes back any significant nuclear renaissance by a "decade, maybe two."

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Ghana’s inflation rate rose in February for the second consecutive month as a 30 percent jump in gasoline costs at the beginning of the year pushed up transportation fees.

Inflation accelerated to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in January, Grace Bediako, head of the Ghana Statistical Service, told reporters today in the capital, Accra. “With most of the upward pressure on inflation arising from the 30 percent fuel-price increase in the new year, February inflation should still be up,” Razia Khan, head of Africa research at Standard Chartered Bank Plc in London, said in an e-mailed note yesterday.

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A policy approved by lawmakers in Ghana that governs how revenue from the nascent oil sector is spent may provide a credit-rating boost and increase lending to the West African nation, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The law, passed on March 2, allows oil revenue to be used as collateral for loans in a “credit enhancement” program, said Wayne Mitchell, resident representative for the fund, based in Accra, the capital. The risk of default is reduced, which will lower interest rates, he said.

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