McFaul October 21, 2019

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only as the last resort

The lesser evil choice is not a choice I want

All that is allowed in our rigged electoral system

If only everything were different I wish

To let there be a choice between good and better.

And yet what choice do we have today

Faced with the urgency of the climate crisis

Some say nuclear energy is necessary

Even with all the risks and lasting toxicity.

I am not convinced, being older and remembering

All that we learned about radiation as problematic

But the youth are acutely aware of global warming

Threatening cataclysmic events in their lifetime.

Even improved reactor designs are a kind of lesser evil

With radioactive waste for hundreds instead of thousands of years

With mining and transportation and storage hazards unsolved

And all the unforeseen consequences that promise disasters.

Agreed wind and solar cause destruction in other ways

That needs to be mitigated through improved design and operation

And other technologies are promising but need development

So I say do nuclear if you must but make it only as the last resort.

It takes many years to construct a nuclear reactor

Time to put maximum resources into alternate approaches

And doing everything to make existing ways more efficient

Anything that helps so we don’t have to pick that poison.

Celery Farm October 15, 2019

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Skylands October 14, 2019

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