America needs nuclear power

One important subject none of the presidential candidates is addressing is our need for nuclear power. Because of ignorance of the technology, many Americans are prone to taking emotional, irrational positions on the subject. A letter from an anti-nuclear power group in the April 9 Herald is a case in point.

It talks about "the dangerous, long-lived high-level radioactive wastes" generated by nuclear power. The fact is modern nuclear power plants, such as those used in France, Japan, etc., do not generate nuclear waste. They "recycle" their waste products. Several countries use such nuclear power to generate at least 80 percent of their electricity.

In the U.S., though, we are still burdened by laws written decades ago when current technology didn't exist.

The effect of all these mistakes is to force us to use much more oil and natural gas than should be necessary.

Wind and solar power are not solutions. They can help, but there is no way they can provide the levels of power we need, or the growth in electric power we need.

In much of the country, we use oil to generate electricity, and natural gas for electric power peaker plants. This is particularly ironic now that hydrogen-fueled cars are viable. Hydrogen burns cleanly.

If modern nuclear electric power is used, hydrogen-fueled cars make sense, importing oil and natural gas will be greatly reduced, emissions by new cars will be eliminated, and the nuclear waste problem will disappear.

Peter G. Malone

St. Charles