Bravo to Hawaii lawmakers for proposing the deployment of new nuclear reactors to mitigate climate change (“2 House bills push for nuclear energy in Hawaii,” Jan. 29).

Nuclear is clean, dense and abundant, with a far smaller environmental impact than wind and solar. Hawaii’s natural beauty won’t be served by paving over thousands of acres with solar panels and erecting hundreds of giant wind turbines. Intermittent renewables are incapable of decarbonizing power grids by themselves.

Small nuclear reactors, sized for islands, can produce copious amounts of carbon-free, reliable electricity. Hawaii should consider them.

A clarification is warranted: The article’s reporting might mislead readers to erroneously conclude that deaths from Japan’s 2011 tsunami tragedy are linked to radiation released from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The U.N. and WHO found that no civilian deaths or discernible cancer rate increases since then can be attributed to radiation from the tsunami-triggered accident.

Kenneth Petersen

President, American Nuclear Society

Downers Grove, Ill.

>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter