Letters to the editor
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We must work toward a non-nuclear future
The dangers and catastrophic consequences of radiation and nuclear waste continue to leach out of Japan through contamination of water, air and the food chain. Although we've been "sold" on nuclear energy as relatively safe and clean, it is evident now that the risk is too great.
Even as we intend to upgrade or make new reactors, where to store the waste still poses a problem. As plutonium, radioactive water and other toxins enter our environment, it's time to rethink the end result.
Nuclear weapons, too, are vulnerable to human error and unintended disasters. As we get further away from the horrors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, we must not forget the devastation left behind. We are bound not only by our humanity, but by our interconnectedness. The radioactive iodine spewing into the ocean and the chilling International Atomic Energy Agency Update Log (www. iaea.org) are daily reminders. In addition, the safety and security of accidents involving fissile material has long been noted.
As more and more countries get their hands on nuclear materials, be it for arms or energy, it's time to keep Fukushima in mind as we work toward a non-nuclear future. The health of our planet depends on it.
JO SCHLESINGER
Edgewood
The writer is Western Pennsylvania coordinator, PA Zero Nuclear Arms Campaign, Coalition for Peace Action.
Unfair to add a tax
Many very emotional letters have made their way into these pages regarding the companies that want to extract or already are extracting natural gas in Pennsylvania.
Too many people are under the impression that these companies are not paying taxes. Truth is, they pay the same amount of taxes that any other company pays. What the pro-tax people want is an additional tax on top of everything else. This exemplifies the very reason so many companies fail in our state. The folks who control taxation in Harrisburg never met a tax they didn't like.
First Published April 13, 2011 12:00 am
