Comment

WHEN so many people have real fears about the visual impact of wind farms, such as the one that may be proposed for Cotton Farm on the site of the former Graveley airfield, alternatives need to be ­considered seriously.

We cannot continue to ­consume fossil fuels to ­provide our electricity. Resources are scarce, and the emissions from its generation are no longer acceptable - whatever the merits of the arguments about climate change, the exhaust gases are harmful to health.

If not on-shore wind ­generation, then what? ­Perhaps we have reached the stage of thinking what for some is the unthinkable.

Nuclear generation technology has developed markedly in the last five decades. Huge amounts of electricity ­consumed in France and ­Germany come from nuclear stations. Yet there is an ­irrational fear here.

There need not be if it is­ ­properly managed - and the nuclear industry across the world, even most of the old installations, has a pretty good record of containment.

There are some concerns about terrorism and disposal, but those can be met by ­security and science. Nuclear is clean, safe, has little ­landscape impact and has the potential to make a real ­contribution to meeting our energy needs.

So what are we so afraid of?