Editor:
What do you do with the waste?

Remember that incessant harangue from the nattering nabobs of nuclear negativism? The truth is, spent fuel from nuclear plants is useful stuff — 95% can be reprocessed as fuel. If the nuclear industry or the Department of Energy had put a modicum of effort into educating the American people, we wouldn’t have such national hysteria about what is in fact a hazard that can be safely handled as is done with many other hazards in modern industry.

But when it comes to solar panels and windmills, it’s a different story. There, the sheer volume of junk becomes a monumental feat to deal with, as even Michael Moore has made vividly clear in his recent, depressing, documentary. Alameda Municipal Power’s plan to build an 11-acre solar farm here in Alameda doesn’t seem too smart or environmentally friendly, especially considering that it may well be cleaned out in 25 years.

Fortunately, there is a way to get rid of the waste on the horizon — fusion power! Advances in fusion research in the past few years along several different tracks make the prospect of viable commercial fusion, even in 10 to 15 years, very real. With fusion plasmas of millions of degrees, all kinds of waste could be recycled — turned into plasma and separated by atomic weight in a magnetic field. Landfills will become valuable resources and even junk windmills and solar panels will be put to good use!

For a greener America, let’s get a crash program for fusion power!