Driest year on record, worst storms on record, warmest year on record, most carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the dinosaurs. Those who continue to believe climate change is a farce or have thrown up their hands in surrender, take note: It will get worse. CO2 continues to rise as fossil fuel use increases worldwide. After millions of years of converting CO2 into trees and plants, we are changing it back to a climate-changing gas faster than trees can grow. We now have the same amount of carbon in the atmosphere as 2 million years ago.

So what will we do? Ignore the problem; deny it into oblivion; Band-aid over it? Those who believe wind, solar, and conservation will solve our problem continue to oppose what needs to be done. We need energy—enough to power the planet well into the future. Until environmentalists and environmental groups fully embrace the scope of the problem, we will never replace fossil-fuel-generated electricity.

Green energy comes at a price. Solar panels don’t make themselves. We will continue to be behind the curve until we accept our fate: Replace all fossil-fuel-produced electricity with a non carbon-producing source. The only option we have on this planet, at this time, is nuclear.

I know it is a dirty word to most Baby Boomers and environmentalists, but this is not the ’70s, and the China Syndrome never happened. Our fear of radiation must be overcome. Remember, the sun is a nuclear reactor; we are bombarded every minute with radiation, yet we worship the sun. It is our life source, but it could kill us if we do not respect its power. The same is true for nuclear energy.

Modern Liquid Salt reactors would use radioactive waste from existing reactors for fuel and leave behind less toxic waste in much smaller amounts. A thorium-fueled reactor could be built on the Diablo site for the price of refurbishing the existing 30-year-old reactors.

Let’s do it!

-- David Deick - Atascadero

-- David Deick - Atascadero