Don't decide due to fear

We encourage citizens to get involved in the process regarding the Alternate Energy Holding, Inc., proposal to move its nuclear power plant idea to Elmore County.

There will be plenty of opportunities to do so, and the county will be looking very closely at the proposal.

One thing we want to discourage is any innate fear of nuclear power. There are an awful lot of nuclear power plants that have been built in Idaho out on the Arco desert (although not one generates a watt to the power grid). The industry has an excellent safety record, and it's the most regulated industry in the world. Every bolt, every weld gets inspected. But you can bet the environmentalists, with whom this county has had to deal in the past, are going to use every scaremongering tactic they can come up with.

There are long-term issues with nuclear waste that will have to be addressed at the federal level, but with Congress pushing for an expanded nuclear power industry in this country, after nearly two decades of hiatus in the construction of such plants, the WIPP facility in Nevada is likely to get approval to begin operating by the time any plant could be built in Elmore County (which would be years away). Nuclear power is being pushed both because of increasing electrical demand in the United States, and because it doesn't generate any greenhouse gases that currently are a far more direct threat to our planet. And as the government begins pushing for more electrical and hydrogen-fueled vehicle, the demand for electrical generation is going to skyrocket.

The economic impact on the county could be enormous, literally in the billions of dollars, and a huge influx in property tax revenue for the county and affected school districts that, if local officials are smart, would be poured into property tax relief for area residents.

This plan should not be rejected out of hand, or over unreasonable fears. It should be looked at closely, with best science and technology practices as the guiding principle.

-- Kelly Everitt