NUCLEAR RESURRECTION…

Nuclear Resurrection On Horizon
Rosalie Westenskow, May 21, 2007 (UPI)

WHO
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy), Christine Todd Whitman, co-chair & Patrick Moore, co-founder and former Greenpeace leader; Environmental Defense, Mark Brownstein, managing director;
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WHAT
Significant new activity in US nuclear industry: 30 proposals in the approval process, the 1st new site authorized in 30 years

WHEN
Statements made at CSEC event May 15.
2032: energy consumption up 34%, energy production up 27%

WHERE
The controversy, as well as the renewed interest, is mainly in the United States. Much of the rest of the developing world uses more nuclear energy.

WHY
- US population up 40%, energy demand up 47%; The energy has to come from somewhere. Many think there is no way to get it all from renewables in time and if it comes from carbon-based fuels it will irreversibly aggravate global climate change.
- Currently, 85% of energy is fossil fuel. 7% is nuclear. 7% is hydroelectric. 1% is renewables.
- Right now, a coal plant is cheaper than a nuclear plant, but with the cost of emissions considered (and nuclear plants relieved of the cost of insurance and waste disposal), it may shift.
- The 2008 Bush budget gives $875 million to the Office of Nuclear Energy (a 38% increase).
- 100 nuclear power plants in the US produce 20% of US power.
- Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., wrote "A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy."
- Four problems remain: nuclear waste disposal, the potential gargantuan harm associated with a nuclear accident, nuclear weapons proliferation, the danger of nuclear facilities as a terrorist target.
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QUOTES
- Whitman: "When you look at projected growth and where we are today, you get the feeling we need to be do something besides standing still…Conservation alone will not supply the energy needed."
- Moore: "Renewables have to be a big part of the picture, but in our world today, with the exception of hydroelectric, only half a percent of our nation's energy is coming from renewables…If we're really going to make a serious dent in fossil fuel consumption, nuclear has to be part of the mix...Otherwise there's no hope of decreasing fossil fuel consumption."
- Domenici: "We now have 30 new power plant applications at one stage or another and before this act we had none -- zero -- for a period of 27 years…What we're doing right now is watching the process unfold."
- Browstein: "It's foolish to move forward with a nuclear reactor if you haven't addressed what to do with the waste that's left over…What happens as this technology becomes more common in the rest of the world? We have to be really concerned about how this technology gets commercialized in the developing world."