Nuclear power plants are not viable solutions

The idea of even considering building nuclear power plants in Iowa (or anywhere else) is abhorrent to me. Bill Fehrman's guest column (“Consider nuclear power,” March 27) points out improvements in plant design, cautionary government requirements, and ever-growing public energy demands on his company, MidAmerican Energy. He also cites MidAmerican's investment in wind energy as a possible future solution. I remain scandalized that with the terrible disaster in Japan as a warning signal, nuclear power plants may be constructed here.

The question of how to safely dispose of nuclear waste has never been answered. Natural disasters and human error and carelessness are unpredictable and can threaten not only power plants but vast areas and many thousands of lives.

We cannot hope that relatively easy solutions will solve the problem of our insatiable consumption of power. Responsible planning for the future may require the use of many alternative solutions, including limitation of the use of power by the public.

Charles Schiller

Elkader