Letter to the editor

Politics and science are like oil and water

Mon, 02/20/2023 - 3:45pm
Dear Editor:
 
There is no question that nuclear power, which is clean and affordable energy that doesn’t pollute or kill birds and whales, is the future. 
 
The reality is that 32 countries around the world currently generate their electricity using nuclear reactors. There are 438 operating reactors, with 57 in the building phase. In Western countries, they are built to exceedingly high safety standards and, in all countries where they operate, they produce clean, affordable energy.
 
Not only are modern nuclear power plant designs safe and economical, they can produce hydrogen fuel through the electrolysis of water when electric power is not in high demand. Also, the spent thorium fuel can be disposed of by recycling it in existing conventional nuclear power plants.
 
From Wiki, a hydrogen vehicle (HV) is a vehicle that uses hydrogen fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen-fueled space rockets, as well as ships and aircraft. Power is generated by converting the chemical energy of hydrogen to mechanical energy, either by reacting hydrogen with oxygen in a fuel cell to power electric motors or, less commonly, by burning hydrogen in an internal combustion engine.
 
Contrast HVs with EVs : from Carfax, a cheap Chevy Bolt costs around $28,000 new, and will be worth about $7,200 in eight years/100,000 miles. The cost to replace the battery? $16,000. Therefore, the useful life of an EV?  Pushing it ... maybe six to eight years. Then it's scrap.
 
“Truth, like oil in water, eventually rises to the surface.” – Charles Chan
 
Phil Molvar
Southport