SierraScape August - September 2006
Back to Table of Contents

by Becky Denney

The Interim Policy of the Sierra Club hasn't changed in regard to the use of nuclear power. Nuclear power is considered to be the least safe alternative to fossil fuels as well as the most expensive alternative.

Carl Pope's recent article called "Fantasy Nuclear" in the Sierra criticizes nuclear promoters for ignoring the constant relationship of nuclear power and proliferation of nuclear weapons. Disregarding the probability of reactor accidents or the real possibility of terrorist use is for Pope "fantasy nuclear." While Carl Pope has an attitude I agree with, he understates the issue of nuclear waste. Safe storage of nuclear waste is a fairy tale. For you or me to believe that we can find a safe storage solution for radioactive waste for millennia is immoral.

New nuclear plants are not a transitional energy source since plants such as Callaway and Watts Bar are licensed for 40 years. A new nuclear power plant is an economic boondoggle. It requires federal grants, loan guarantees, and risk insurance, so will be heavily subsidized by the public.

Our way of life is threatened by the way we produce and consume energy. Our resources should be spent on alternatives to our use of fossil fuel for transportation and alternatives to our use of coal for creation of electricity. We should not spend our economic resources, natural resources, and technological resources to create future problems for humanity with nuclear power.