Letter: Governor’s energy plan hurts Hoosiers’ futures

After reading that Governor Mike Braun intends to turn Indiana into a state that can meet the increased demand for energy that the future may require by providing nuclear power to lure new large-load electricity customers into Indiana, I feel compelled to respond.

What is left unsaid in this equation is the devastation to the environment that will be caused to our common home and the health risks that both nuclear power generation and large-load electricity customers will have on Hoosiers. He seems to believe that because nuclear power generation is carbon-free we can conclude that it is a safe and acceptable source of power.

We tend to forget that there is no safe way to generate nuclear power and no safe way to dispose of the waste it leaves behind. Neither is there any way to incorporate large-load electricity customers – think A.I. facilities – into a primarily agricultural region of the country.

Indiana has already suffered from some of the worst air pollution in the country. Under the governor’s plan, we can look forward to having our soil contaminated and farmland despoiled to provide for industrial use and the unchecked growth it promises to bring with it. There is nothing in this vision of the future that protects the health and well-being of Indiana citizens. Like so much else today it would result in the loss of irreplaceable resources to meet the demand of the greediest and most aggressive forces among us.

Instead of luring these vultures into our communities we should be focusing on measures to keep them out.

Julie Melchior
Ferdinand