Invest now in nuclear power

Re “Collision course for coal,” Opinion, April 11

The staggering greenhouse gas numbers that Ronald Brownstein mentions for electricity generated by burning coal -- four-fifths of all carbon from electrical power generation and one-third of all U.S. carbon emissions -- would seem to render coal moot as a power source. Zero carbon for electrical grids is only available from nuclear power.

Massive fields of wind turbines have multiple sets of problems; solar, while promising, is far more cost effective decentralized than as a primary source of grid power. The nuclear model is already in place -- France has deployed nuclear power safely and efficiently as its predominant source of electricity for decades. Instead of hoping for clean coal later, we should invest now in proven nuclear technology. Even the hypothetical problems of storing radioactive waste are dwarfed by the certain specter of global warming. The time to act is right now.

KEVIN CROZIER

Los Angeles