I want to compliment Rolf Westgard on the article “Nuke opponents cling to old fears” in the Feb. 15, 2011, Dispatch. For years we have heard of the flat earthers spewing fear about nuclear power plants. Most of the fearmongering leaders are lawyers who don’t have a clue about the efficiency and economy of nuclear power.

I saw first hand the damage caused by a small number of nuclear protesters. I was in a major manufacturing facility where we built super computers used by major companies to design and control nuclear power plants. The protests obviously scared politicians who then passed anti-nuclear laws and regulations. These new federal laws caused nuclear power development companies to give up. This caused our company at least $1 billion lost revenue and a thousand Minnesota jobs. Minnesota could have become a leader in responsible new power sources. I am encouraged to recently see the Minnesota Senate approve lifting the ban on new nuclear power plants. Wind power, solar power and algae biofuel are nothing but hype and we should stop pouring money into a rat hole.

Nuclear power is clearly the alternative fuel for our country. Many other countries are a long way ahead of the U.S. in nuclear use.

I want to thank Rolf Westgard for writing a common sense analysis.

Robert Olson

Ideal Township 

Crow Wing County