To the editor:
The 66th anniversary of the atomic bomb blasts that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been accompanied this year in Japan by calls for the country to develop safer sources of energy, such as solar, wind and biomass.
Until the meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, Japan had been planning to boost the country’s nuclear power supply to 50 per cent by 2030. Now, only 16 of the country’s 54 reactors are operating, and more will soon go offline for maintenance amid growing reluctance to restart them again.
Nuclear energy may be clean, but safety is clearly a concern in an earthquake prone area like Japan, and I think Japanese people are wise to be seeking out safer renewable energy sources.
We face the same earthquake concern here in British Columbia.
However, unlike Japan, nuclear energy is not on the horizon in B.C. because of the wealth of renewable clean-energy resources we have to draw upon. We are fortunate to have so much available right on our doorstep.
We also have growing expertise with renewable energy that we could share with countries, such as Japan, which are seeking safer, cleaner supplies of energy. After all, a world with safer, cleaner energy is in everyone’s best interest.
Charles Davis
White Rock
