I am not surprised Kevin Trumper (letters18/4/03) doesn't want to play ping-pong over the economics of nuclear power, but for too long these have been left unchallenged.

Labours’ own 1997 manifesto stated that they "see no economic case for the building of any new nuclear power stations." Gloucestershire MPs Diana Organ, Parmjit Dhanda and Nigel Jones have all called on the Government to reject the nuclear energy option completely.

Serious unresolved issues like radioactive pollution, waste disposal and plant safety only confirm that nuclear power is uneconomic. Investment companies realise this. Henderson Global Investors, for example write, "The precipitous slide in the value of British Energy has exposed once and for all the absence of a long term rationale for nuclear power."

Only the government's provision of a loan saved BE from administration - in other words, investments of over £50 billion put into Britain's nuclear power programme, are now almost worthless. John Kay, leading business commentator said this is, "the biggest write off in the history of capitalism" (FT 19/9/02).

The tragedy is that the government's loan could distort the UK's energy market to the detriment of renewables. Furthermore while the government has set targets for renewables there seems to be a chronic lack of will to achieve these targets.

We need action now on renewables and energy efficiency. They are benign, cleaner, cheaper, provide more jobs and are fully sustainable. This is the way forward.

Britain's nuclear expertise and technological competence need not be wasted. Let’s work for a different future for our nuclear industry, by investing in the multi-billion-pound market worldwide for nuclear decommissioning, clean-up and waste management.

Start the Green energy revolution and put the nuclear power dinosaur out of its misery.

Philip Booth Gloucestershire Green Party