U.S. Energy Policy and Nuclear Plants

As chairman of the County and Cities of Los Angeles Energy Commission, I can only reiterate that most elected officials and our public energy agencies have not done enough to plan ahead--and, as a result, the American public is in many ways more vulnerable today than it was in the 1970s.

Today, for example, alternative energy sources can produce substantial amounts of power that are nonpolluting and at a price competitive with foreign oil. In the past five years, the cost of solar power has been slashed dramatically, from 24 cents to eight cents per kilowatt hour. Similarly, geothermal and wind power is little, if any, more expensive than imported oil and one-half the cost of newly commissioned nuclear power.

Public and private utilities ought to be investigating closely the long-term benefits of alternative energy. I think the utilities will discover it makes good economic, environmental and political sense today to support renewable energy--and, by doing so, America’s energy independence as well.

JERRY B. EPSTEIN

Chairman, County of Los Angeles

Energy Commission

DE ANGELIS, Il Popolo, Rome