Re: foundation awards unplug salem 12K

["Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@UCDAVIS.EDU>]

May 12, 2002

Davis, CA



What a great disservice to our nation and the environment to oppose the use

of nuclear power for the generation of badly needed electrical energy. Not

only are current nuclear power plants inherently safe, but they don't

really pollute. Out nation already has all the nuclear fuel that is

necessary to provide all the electrical energy that we need for the whole

century in the form of plutonium and depleted uranium. With plentiful

electricity we can desalinate ocean water to provide needed drinking water

and make hydrogen fuel by hydrolysis of water to operate pollution

fuel-cell-powered automobiles with an end to foreign oil dependence. That's

what real environmentalists should support. 



Although the technical and safety aspects of nuclear waste disposal have

been long solved, the perceptual and political forces driven by such

misguided folks as Norman Cohen and the so-called Coalition for Peace and

Justice (sic) and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign continue to claim that there is

no solution or promulgate fallacies about the impact of nuclear power

plants on people and the environment. What sad nonsense! Instead they

promote the extremely expensive (more than 50 cents per kwh) and

impractical solar and wind power approaches that would serious hurt our

environment. Can you image covering 25 square miles with solar collectors

and support roads to equal one Salem nuclear power plant, and drastically

increasing the cost of electricity with a power source that turns off every

night. How about covering 10% of New Jersey with wind generators? That will

assure that the wild bird population does not get too large.



Unfortunately, there can be no useful dialogue with Norman Cohen or any of

the anti-nuclear activists because there convictions far exceed their

ability to reason. I recommend that we all just delete his messages without

reading whenever we see them posted.



Sincerely,



Otto







**********************************************

Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP

Center for Health & the Environment

(Street Address: Bldg. 3792, Old Davis Road) 

University of California, Davis, CA 95616

E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu

Phone: (530) 752-7754   FAX: (530) 758-6140

***********************************************

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