| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2010 11:56 pm |
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Letters 
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ENERGY SOLUTIONS Nuclear power is not the answer Regarding the Friday letter, "Nuclear energy can answer our needs":In the 1950s, nuclear power looked like our best option for future energy. Today nuclear power seems obsolete and expensive. Nuclear power's costs are rising because it requires tremendous amounts of costly fossil fuels to mine, process and transport uranium and build nuclear power plants. Plus, there are serious environmental concerns our federal government cannot seem to address. Consider the current economic costs of building a nuclear power plant. There is talk of adding two more nuclear power plants along the Pee Dee River in North Carolina at a taxpayer cost of half a trillion dollars for 2 gigawatts of power (2,000 megawatts). For twice this cost we could produce the same output from solar power. The difference? Solar power comes with its own power supply while nuclear power plants must be constantly fed enriched uranium. Grid-tied solar power lends itself to distributed production that is easier on the grid and more likely to be fully or partly funded by home and business owners. Nuclear power is public-capital-intensive and heaps heavy loads onto an already overloaded grid. Now consider the environmental costs. For every ton of enriched uranium produced seven tons of depleted uranium waste are produced. This highly toxic waste is housed in federal repositories at taxpayer expense indefinitely. Right now our nation has no long-term storage facility for spent fuel. After decades of interstate stalemate, half of our spent fuel is stored above ground at plants in air casks because the "temporary" water containment facilities are exhausted. We need to power down and prepare for a different kind of existence than we have known for nearly a century. This does not mean we necessarily need to "tend sheep." It does mean using ingenuity to live in harmony with nature vs. plundering and poisoning this home we share. Eric Teegarden Brier |
- A revolutionary 747
- Fire breaks out at Everett car dealer
- Everett rethinks boutique wineries
- A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood
- Snohomish County's bargain housing won't last
- Boeing's 747-8 takes off after weather delay
- Plan for I-5 closures this week
- A new bowling alley for Monroe?
- Lake Stevens man homeless after fire
- I-5 bridge joint may give you a jolt, but it isn't damaged
- Vote on school levies by Tuesday
(11) - A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood (10)
- State Senate votes to toss I-960's tax-raising hurdle (9)
- Lynnwood sets height limit on grass: 8 inches (8)
- Everett rethinks boutique wineries (5)
- Everett police officers cleared in 2008 shooting death (5)
- 1949 travel aid shows how few places blacks were welcome in Washington (4)
- I-5 bridge joint may give you a jolt, but it isn't damaged (4)
- A new bowling alley for Monroe? (3)
- Toyota has powerful D.C. friends (3)
- Edmonds educator, famous announcer dies
- Mill Creek to appeal ruling on annexation
- Through the air, with the greatest of ease
- E-W thriving under new coach
- The path to citizenship
- EUUC puts on ‘Pants & Shoes’
- Wolfpack wins the ‘Battle'
- Lynnwood’s annexation plans OK’d
- Arlington's Cascade Valley Hospital celebrates expansion, national award and 100 years of service
- Business Licences Feb. 2010
- Technology tips for launching your own business
- Business Events Feb. 2010
- Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site
- State already raising fees and rates that restrict business growth
- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
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