You are probably using a light to read this editorial. Or maybe you are reading it at baltimoreexaminer.com. Either way, you need energy.
Americans use roughly one-fourth of the world’s energy, and that won’t change anytime soon. Maryland is running low and could have outages by 2011. Global warming concerns all but eliminates any plans for a new coal-fired plant, so we need other options.
That’s why nuclear power is essential. Maryland has two nuclear reactors at Calvert Cliffs, and Constellation Energy Group Inc. plans to build a third reactor there. The hope is MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which has agreed to buy Constellation, will move forward with those plans.
Well, not everyone hopes so.
The coalition of organizations against a new reactor is as predictable as its opposition. Public Citizen, Clean Water Action and even the Green Party are all opposed. They claim they are “green” for battling nuclear power. But their movement is “brown” — as in brownouts, which will happen in Maryland if we let eco-nuts rule our energy policy.
The Maryland Public Interest Research Group released a July report arguing “clean” energy and energy efficiency are the only way to go for Maryland’s future. Their idea is to put our eggs in one basket. Clean energy is good. Relying on it exclusively is beyond bad. It’s delusional.
The Maryland branch of the Sierra Club is also fighting the power at Calvert Cliffs. It claims a third nuclear reactor would increase “risk of an accident or terrorist attack.”
This isn’t a “China Syndrome” problem, indicating a major meltdown through the Earth all the way to China, as the Jane Fonda anti-nuke movie of the same name discussed. This is Takoma Park Syndrome. The crunchy suburb declared itself a nuclear-free zone in 1983. Outside of such dogmatic locations, energy is essential to life.
That doesn’t mean nuclear energy is perfect. A nuclear plant produces waste that must be stored safely for thousands of years — 1,375 tons of waste during its 40-year life, according to Maryland PIRG. And yes, it does pose some security risk. But so does almost everything. Build a dam and some lunatic can blow it up, wiping out the homes below. The last seven years have taught us horrifying lessons that modern technology can be used against us. Planes, skyscrapers, hotels, cars, trucks and more can be targets or weapons. But we can’t ban technology simply because of the actions of a dangerous few.
And we can’t rely solely on green solutions. Energy is essential to our lives, our economy and our future. We should pursue all the options available to us — wind, solar, drilling for oil and, yes, nuclear power. A new Calvert Cliffs plant wouldn’t come online until 2016, but it will be worth the wait.
