Letter: Country should be phasing out nuclear power

Thursday, March 4, 2004 | 9:01 a.m.

Balderdash is my reply to the Feb. 18 letter by Richard Rychtarik headlined, "Championing Nuclear Power."

The American people were sold out in 1954 when we were saddled with the responsibility of nuclear waste by the federal government. If all the subsidies and tax breaks would be added back and included in the cost of electricity produced by nuclear energy it would be double the cost of producing power by natural gas.

Alaska has ample supplies of natural gas that should be accessed by the construction of a pipeline linked with the present pipelines. Instead Gov. Murkowski is promoting a far more expensive route that will take years.

Nevada should become a laboratory for solar, wind, geothermal and hydrogen production to produce electricity, and nuclear power should be phased out. Italy, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands are slowly phasing out nuclear power because renewable sources are safer and better for our environment.

Just because Nevada served our nation from 1951 to 1992, and Nevadans and downwinders died or got sick while our land was poisoned, is no reason to further pollute our land and water at a Yucca Mountain nuclear dump.

All future real estate contracts should have disclosure about the risks inherent in transporting nuclear waste. When these risks of accident and terrorism are understood along with the deficiencies of Yucca Mountain, there will be a groundswell of protest nationwide.

FRANK PERNA