Support for Nuclear Energy Grows
By Katherine Berezowskyj
President Obama’s recent support for nuclear energy has ignited a genuine discussion on the issue. No longer can nuclear energy’s benefits be ignored or scare tactics employed to shut down discussion, the American media is getting behind the facts.
From the Boston Herald:
“Absent nuclear power, any clean-energy policy is largely decorative since the more talked about elements – wind, solar – can only supply power at the margins. Nuclear plants generate 20 percent of U.S. power now and 70 percent of the power considered to come from clean sources.”
“If the United States is going to get serious about reducing carbon emissions, nuclear power must play a significant role in our long- term strategy… Let’s remember that when finally completed, these two reactors would be the first nuclear plants to go online in this country in more than 30 years. For far too long we’ve ignored the most viable and efficient clean energy technology available to us.”
“While the U.S. operates more nuclear plants than any other country, with 104 reactors, it’s playing catch-up in construction. Worldwide, 56 reactors are being built, including 21 in China, nine in Russia, six in South Korea and five in India, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Only one plant, the resurrection of a canceled project in Tennessee, is under way in the U.S.”
“From where we sit, the risks are worth taking to get the United States back into the game, for the sake of the climate, this country’s energy future and the jobs a vibrant nuclear technology industry could create.”
“So let’s celebrate the progress that has been made. Nuclear power is the technology of the 21st century. Those countries that embrace it will prosper while those who fear it will find themselves in the position of 18th century Spain when it decided not to embrace the industrial revolution. President Obama has defied his environmental supporters to support nuclear power. The advantages of the technology are so overwhelming, it may take no more than that to get the ball rolling.”
And also on Bloomberg, Jacques Besnainou, CEO of AREVA Inc., said:
“For me, they are not competitors, we are competi-mates,” Besnainou said about nuclear-plant builders in an interview in Bethesda, Maryland, yesterday. “What Wall Street needs to see, and Main Street as well, is that we are able to build on time, on budget.”
