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Climate Crossroads Blog
The Senate EPW Hearing and Nuclear Power
Posted by:
Heather M on
July 14, 2009 at
1:50PM PST
This is a guest post by Shannon Goggins, intern for the Sierra Club Global Warming & Energy Program. This morning, the Senate Environment and Public Works committee convened to discuss the opportunities to the agricultural sector opened up by new climate legislation. The conversation focused largely on the expected costs versus benefits of the program. After ignoring EPA predictions and calling the bill a “$100 billion job killing national energy tax,” Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander offered up his plan to build 100 new nuclear coal plants over the next 10 years.Several times, Senator Alexander referred to this nuclear power plant blitz as “cheap and clean energy.” What he failed to mention is that the already high cost of nuclear power plants, to the tune of $700 billion to reach his target, does not include the cost of dealing with nuclear waste. There is currently no way to dispose of nuclear waste; the best they can do is store it in a “safe” place until they come up with a better plan. Unfortunately, there is no better plan. The energy we need to fuel this country should be clean and renewable. Not only is nuclear power historically unsafe, it is expensive, and leaves a trail of radioactive waste in its path. Committee Chair Sen. Barbara Boxer responded to Sen. Alexander by pointing out that we should not be picking a winner, but allowing the free market determine which sources of clean energy, and there are many, would succeed. It is also notable that in all the important discussions of the bill’s costs, the high costs of inaction were not explored. |
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