As a SLO county resident, I strongly oppose that Diablo Canyon Power Plant continue operation past the end of the plant’s federal licenses. The plant has violated environmental laws and plant safety rules numerous times. Using taxpayer money to buy the utility company a pass on safety and enormous fines that PG&E could have avoided is outrageous. Those of us who live here and could be victims of an extinction event for the entire county must prevail. Speak up, folks. Now.
Alan Thomas
SLO
This article appears in Feb 9-19, 2023.
Even Greta Thunberg admits that for now it is a good idea to not get rid of operating nuke plants. We must wait until all the new offshore windmills have killed off all the whales before we have enough renewables to run you Mediterranean climate home. You are already absconding with my Idaho hydro-power, all the while trying to remove the Snake River hydro-power dams. I have new and hideous power lines by my home that cut a scar 1,095 miles to possibly my home town of San Luis Obispo. I have an Idea, why don’t you make your own electricity instead of inflicting it on me and the whales and eagles.
Are you serious about climate change or not? Is indulging your visceral loathing of nuclear power more important than avoiding the planet-wide “extinction event” that we are told that we are headed towards unless we reduce the use of fossil fuel?
Keeping Diablo Canyon up and running and in good maintenance condition makes sense for about a dozens reasons; one of which is that it is an incredibly efficient, nearly zero-carbon emission energy source that provides tremendous power for millions of high-energy consuming customers. Spending efforts on securing a safe national storage depository for nuclear waste and on continued efforts to reduce domestic, commercial and industrial consumption is of far greater importance right now than pushing to close down Diablo Canyon. Be open-minded enough to listen to Michael Shellenberger in this Ted Talk and you might change your mind about nuclear power: https://youtu.be/ciStnd9Y2ak
Penny wise, pound foolish:
READ your insurance policies. NONE OF YOUR INSURANCE covers a nuclear accident. Why do you suppose your policy is written that way? Call your agent and ask.
Even if you survive a San Luis Obispo—Fukushima type event, all your assets, your business, your house(s) cars, furnishings, all your toys, and even the property your home is on will be worth ZIP, ZERO, NADA.
So even if you skedaddle and survive without suffering a prolonged cancerous demise, ask yourself if you’re really ready to start from scratch, potentially penniless.
Ponder whether the thousands of owners who used to live in Fukushima are cavalier about nuclear power now.