Once and for all, nuclear wrong for us
Well, all the powerful energy leaders are getting in line to assure us that nuclear energy is wonderful! At the Nuclear Opportunity Workshop in Knoxville (NOW) last week, they declared they are “Unleashing Tennessee’s Nuclear Future.” Sure, we likely need more electricity, but nuclear is not the answer. Nuclear’s not green and clean — it emits radiation daily, accumulating in people’s bodies over the years, leading to deteriorating health. Besides, it costs too much money and takes too much time to build, so it won’t help with climate change. Then there’s the radioactive waste with no safe place to go. Waste at nuclear plants is stored in casks that will decay before the waste does.
TVA has seven nuclear reactors, with Chattanooga downwind of all of them. Also, Oak Ridge is a nationally recognized hotspot for radioactive and toxic contamination, some of which is in the Tennessee River. More is not needed.
TVA, intent on increasing our percentage of nuclear power in the Valley, has gotten its Clinch River site approved for a small modular reactor (SMR). Mind you, there is no approved final design for any SMR. TVA cannot build an SMR until it is approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That takes time.
Why is it that nuclear proponents want to spend billions of dollars on nuclear to the detriment of people when there are so many safer, cleaner, cheaper ways to produce electricity? Let’s move money and research to safer, healthier renewable energy.
Sandra Kurtz
End woke revisionism over Civil War past
The out-of-towners trashing the South over the Civil War is getting old and tedious.
› There was no crime committed unless you count the scorched earth policy of Grant/Sherman in which everything, including churches, were burned to the ground.
› Secession is not treason. The South voted itself out of the Union (a really stupid idea) and was invaded by the North, like Russia is doing to Ukraine.
› Slavery, the worst institution in human history, was held in the South by a minority of very large landowners producing one crop — cotton. A very bad institution metastasized after the invention of the cotton gin in the late 1790s.
› The typical Confederate soldier, like my great-great-great grandfather, was mustered into military service and owned no slaves but was in debt to the plantation class.
Real history is more complex than what passes for “woke” revisionism; 620,000+ dead Americans would all agree on that.
Ron Williams
Rise up today for your children
Our unique and precious democracy is under full-time attack from serious hate merchants claiming to be on the side of democracy. I say “claiming to be” because it’s about as obvious as can be that they’re only on the side of a few extremely wealthy billionaires. This should not be this way, and I honestly suspect that even most Trump fanatics understand this.
I have this strong feeling that if reality is not redirected in a more spiritual and caring direction, then future generations will suffer from the miserable and unacceptable things taking place under a small, hateful group of people. Personally, I prefer to believe most Americans are better people than what we see and hear about from Trump and his band of thieves, and it’s not what the majority of us wanted for our nation.
Please consider my words because America is not exactly in a good place right now. We all need Americans to stand up, to not bow down and allow our democracy to be taken from us. If anything, rise up and do it for your own children as well as for your own peace of mind.
Calvin V. Henderson
Trump is at fault for food aid’s rot
In a recent letter, I shared my outrage over the destruction of nearly 500 tons of emergency food aid. It was pointed out that the food had expired — this is correct. I knew that, but I didn’t say the most important part: It never should have expired.
This food was purchased under the Biden administration, stored in Dubai and meant to feed over a million starving children under 5 in Pakistan and Afghanistan. But after Trump took office on Jan. 20, 2025, he created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), put them in charge, and they quickly dismantled USAID — shutting down 83% of its programs and gutting its staff.
With no one left to track expiration dates or get the food where it needed to go, it sat there — until it went bad. Then we paid $100,000 of our tax money just to burn it. That’s on top of the $800,000 we already spent to buy it in the first place. That food could have saved lives — or at least given people a fighting chance.
This waste didn’t happen because of some accident. It happened because the system that was supposed to prevent this kind of waste was intentionally torn apart.
Before 2025, this kind of large-scale aid loss didn’t happen. Now, USAID is basically gone. In July, a total of 94% of its staff was laid off, its work stopped cold. It still exists on paper but not in action.
We deserve leaders who feed hope, not burn it down.
Betty Gray
Trenton, Georgia
It’s back to school season, and I need your help. A persistent trend of chronic absenteeism in North Georgia and the Chattanooga area will contribute to a decline in how well our communities function. Children absent 10% or more days, the definition of chronic absenteeism, struggle to master academic skills and form strong relationships with others.
If we want stable, thriving communities, we have to address the problem as a whole; this is not a school-based problem alone.
I need businesses and organizations to support school attendance in a meaningful way. It might mean you volunteer as a mentor to marginalized students or help pack weekend sack lunches for hungry kids. Are health care options accessible and affordable; do you prioritize after-school appointments for school-aged children? Is there a safety net to help with overdue electric and water bills? Landlords, are your rental units good enough for your family to move into?
Children who are cold, hungry, sick and lonely miss school. How can you be a part of the solution?
Christine Brown, social worker
North Georgia public schools