Time to pull the plug on nuclear?
2011 January 31
To The Editor,
The Toronto Star:
Re: "Used nuclear company is no bargain", Opinion Jan. 25
The Ontario Clean Air Alliance can speculate all it wants about how to solve our future energy needs, but some things we know for certain: Nuclear energy is a proven, reliable, clean technology that powers half of Ontario and employs 71,000 Canadians. It is technology pioneered in Ontario that now leads the world in efficiency. And we know that the industry never claimed it would be "too cheap to meter", a myth that has been soundly debunked (see http://media.cns-snc.ca/media/toocheap/toocheap.html).
The environmental impact of nuclear energy is smaller than any other large-scale supply option. Moreover, the spent fuel can be recycled into more fuel with the potential to generate a hundred times more energy.
If the Clean Air Alliance is concerned about terrorism and energy infrastructure, I suggest it take a hard look at the massive long-range transmission and natural gas network it proposes to fill the gap.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Whitlock, PhD, FCNS
Past President, Canadian Nuclear Society
Deep River, Ont.
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