If nuclear energy and oil burning power plants were the only options for generating electricity in Bermuda, residents could be forgiven for thinking they were being asked to pick their poison.

Buying electricity from diesel oil burning power plants like Belco's will apparently get more and more expensive as the price of oil rises, and has the added fillip of contributing to global warming.

And the public perception of nuclear power is that it may be cheaper and cleaner (at least to the atmosphere) but could lead to Bermuda becoming the next Chernobyl.

As we explain in today's newspaper on Page 14, the options are not as clear cut as that, but today's meeting to discuss nuclear power has at least focused Bermuda's collective mind a little more sharply on this vital question.

But, as environmental group Greenrock points out today, these are not the only options. No one is suggesting that home solar panels, wind turbines and the like will supplant commercial power generation in the future. But it can make a difference, as can more conservative use of electricity, which according to Belco's annual results published in today's Business section, is already happening.

At the same time, Energy Minister Terry Lister is engaged in drafting a national energy policy; the current debate is necessary as Government develops its ideas.