Fremont County Independent Outreach Committee

To the editor:

There appear to be some who feel they can determine the laws of science and how the world uses them; in a sense set technological progress. Such cannot be done anywhere. Advances in what we know and can do will always proceed, generally to the common good. It is not the science that does damage, it is those who choose to ignore it or use it unwisely.

The world may be beginning to run out of our usual sources of energy which is the basis for economic progress and increases in our living standards. Many of the current proposals to provide “alternative energy” still involve the carbon atom and if one accepts global warming will only increase such. The limited sources that can be used in some cases that do not involve the carbon atom, such as solar, wind, tides, etc. are not 24/7 reliable nor yet economic (they also require back-up), but can be used appropriately to supplement energy needs. Those that can be relied upon and are economic and “non-polluting” are hydro, geothermal (very limited), and nuclear (fission and fusion), with nuclear being expanded rapidly throughout the world and now, with the president’s new federal policy, also in the US.

There are today around 430 nuclear fission plants operating with 104 in the U.S. Another 450-plus are under construction or being planned, which will about double world capacity. In the U.S., some 30-plus have been planned or proposed and can now proceed under our new policy. These will need about 20,000 tons of uranium. Some of this can initially come from continued dismantling of existing missiles. Much of the rest will in the future be mined in the U.S. or in Canada.

The past is past; we need not confuse our future energy needs or policies with the clean-up of our current sites. In spite of what may be said, the clean-up of the Cotter site is proceeding very well and in accordance with Federal rules and policies under our CDPHE. It is independent of what we may do for future energy needs. As to health effects, recent cancer data from the U.S. Cancer Institute and the Institute of Health show no change in cancer incidence in Fremont County or Colorado; both remain below the U.S. average with no cancer type standing out.

Richard Dodge,

Cañon City