To the editor,
I see the nuclear-phobic “Edge of destruction” warranted cover-page treatment in the Dec 15 issue, over “Oil rigging.” Which of the following is most likely to effect the health and welfare of HRM residents: the microscopic possibility of a nuclear accident during an infrequent visit by a nuclear-powered ship, or the continual fallout of fossil fuel waste products from the Tufts Cove power plant (not to mention the noise pollution)? The public’s understanding of the boundary between nuclear power and nuclear weapons is already blurred, and the writer exploited this shamelessly. When you carry articles about the price of gasoline, why not mention we’re all driving around with a trunkload of Molotov cocktails? Every time an HRM citizen jumps in their car to run an errand, they’re taking risks astronomically larger than the scenario depicted in “Edge of destruction.”
Finally, for the anti-nuclear-power folks out there: Joni Mitchell was correct, we ARE stardust. The stuff that makes up our bodies was forged in a nuclear fusion reactor (which is otherwise known as a star) and distributed into space by way of a massive explosion, billions of years ago. Currently, life on Earth is sustained by the nuclear fusion reactor (also known as the sun) that we orbit. Let’s not kid ourselves: we depend on nuclear power, and if we stop using (or run out of) fossil fuels, we’re not going to feed the world’s demand for energy with windmills and solar panels. Nuclear energy is in our past, present and future; it’s all about managing the risk.
By Dave Chapman
This article appears in Jan 5-11, 2006.