Indian Point plan must protect air quality

The state Public Service Commission is acting wisely by ordering energy companies to start preparing now in case Indian Point is shut down in the future.

It will take time to ensure the right transmission and generating assets are in place to ensure a steady supply of energy.

What has been missing from the planning process, however, is a parallel plan to deal with the air- quality impacts of the replacement power. Nuclear power presents many complex environmental challenges, but air pollution is not among them. Indian Point generates almost none of the kind of airborne pollutants that are linked to asthma and other respiratory ailments.

Even more importantly, Indian Point generates minimal carbon pollution - the kind that warms our climate and contributes to extreme weather events like Superstorm Sandy.

If Indian Point were closed today, the energy needed to replace it would derive almost entirely from fossil fuels that dirty our air and worsen global climate change. The environmental and public health consequences of simply switching to fossil fuels are too great to ignore.

As part of any plan to replace Indian Point's power, the Cuomo administration must present a comprehensive and concrete strategy to protect the Hudson Valley's air quality and not hasten the warming of our climate.

Marcia Bystryn

New York City

The writer is president of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

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Indian Point plan must protect air quality

Re 'Utilities study alternative energy sources; State seeking options in case Indian Pt. shuts,' Nov. 28:The state Public Service Commission is acting wisely by ordering energy companies to start

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