To the editor:
If we covered the entire state of Rhode Island with solar panels, we would power only 13% of American homes, much less everything else that runs on electricity.
While wind and solar energy are great assets in the pursuit of carbon neutrality, nuclear energy is the only way across the finish line. Unless we dot every field with solar panels and line the entire coast with windmills, we’ll need a better option to power our cars, homes, and businesses.
Nuclear energy today is not what destroyed the city of Chernobyl or contaminated the coast of Japan. Countless scientific studies show nuclear to not just be a safe source, but the safest source of reliable energy.
Technology is developing and so must we. Modular reactors are being built that can’t melt down, plants are being created that leave almost no waste, and fusion is leading the way to a clean energy revolution.
Slowly and surely the world is accepting this. Various forms of nuclear have been endorsed in both major political party platforms and by Massachusetts’ own Gov. Maura Healey and Rep. Seth Moulton, who has long led the way on nuclear, even when it wasn’t politically popular.
Western states like Utah and New Mexico have adopted plans to move toward nuclear energy. Will we? Our state cannot sit idly by when so many jobs could be created, when so many funds could be raised, and when we finally have the opportunity to give our next generation a future.
Sincerely,
Ethan Henshaw
Salem
