In the letter titled “Warming shots” (Voice, Nov. 17), W. R. Huntington railed at the Union of Concerned Scientists for its position on the safety record of the U.S. commercial power industry’s nuclear plants while simultaneously acknowledging the dangers of global warming from fossil fuel plants.
What exactly is his point? That profit-driven compromises in nuclear safety are somehow acceptable because greenhouse gases are also dangerous?
The fact is that nuclear and fossil-fueled plants are not the only options, nor even the best options. But Commonwealth Edison and other electric companies have invested heavily in a business model that relies on centralized production facilities with a distribution grid. They are not interested in solar options, because solar energy is an inherently decentralized power source.
I only hope that with the deregulation of that industry, some bright entrepreneur will figure out that home-sized solar plants networked together through the existing power grid are a viable business. Then maybe we’ll have some alternative to choosing sides over which way to wreck the planet.
