[NukeNet] Keep those calls coming: no nuke subsidies in the climate bill

[Michael Mariotte]

THANKS FOR ALL YOUR CALLS!

 

KEEP THEM COMING!

 

KEEP NUCLEAR SUBSIDIES OUT OF THE CLIMATE BILL!

 

...and some more news below...

 

Dear Friends:

 

All day long, we have been receiving notes from people letting us know
they have called their Senators demanding that nuclear power subsidies
stay out of the climate bill! The response has been gratifying-and we
know these calls are effective. We've heard reports of some offices
being overwhelmed with calls, and others simply turning on their
answering machines to avoid more ringing phones.

 

We now don't believe any nuclear amendments will be voted on today.
Thus, if you haven't yet called your Senators, please do so. Capitol
Switchboard: 202-224-3121.

 

We also now have seen the text of the likely Lieberman/Warner nuclear
amendment. It calls for funds for "nuclear science and engineering
education" and for "nuclear energy trades training and certification,"
as well as a "sense of the Senate" that nuclear power is safe, that
nuclear power emits "fewer greenhouse gases than wind energy, solar
energy, and biomass on a per kilowatt-hour basis," and that Congress
should develop new programs to "stimulate" investment for the
manufacture of nuclear components-such as reactor vessels. These
provisions are being put in because the nuclear industry simply doesn't
have the infrastructure to build new reactors-so they want taxpayers to
pay for that infrastructure. We need to tell the Senate that we want our
money spent on the fastest, safest, cheapest and cleanest solutions to
the climate crisis: renewables and energy efficiency.

 

We have not seen the likely Isakson amendment, but it reportedly will
expand on the Lieberman/Warner amendment by providing specific tax
credits for reactor component manufacture and by adding still more money
for taxpayer loan guarantees for new reactors.

 

Ten Washington based organizations issued a statement calling for
rejection of the subsidies: Clean Water Action; Environment America;
Environmental Working Group;

Greenpeace; Natural Resources Defense Council; Nuclear Information and
Resource Service; Nuclear Policy Research Institute/Beyond Nuclear;
Physicians for Social Responsibility; Public Citizen; Sierra Club; and
Union of Concerned Scientists.

 

 

 

Either or both of these proposals could be voted on late Wednesday night
but more likely on Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, two other major nuclear developments:

 

*All 27 countries in the European Union were put on Alert today because
of a loss-of-coolant accident at the Krsko nuclear reactor in Slovenia.
Authorities say there was no release of radiation, but Greenpeace
International in Amsterdam is asking for independent assurances of that
and our allies at Global 2000 in Vienna, Austria are on their way to the
site now to take their own radiation measurements.

 

*The US Department of Energy yesterday filed its application for
licensing of the proposed Yucca Mountain radioactive waste dump in
Nevada. Nevada officials and environmentalists everywhere will continue
to fight this dangerous, leaky, earthquake-prone facility. We'll have
more on this in upcoming issues of the Nuclear Monitor.

 

Again, thanks to everyone who has made calls, and asked their friends
and colleagues and even strangers to make calls. If you haven't done so
yet, there is still time. It's the most effective thing you can do right
now to stop the nuclear power relapse. 202-224-3121.

 

Michael Mariotte

Executive Director

Nuclear Information and Resource Service

nirsnet at nirs.org

www.nirs.org <http://www.nirs.org/> 

301-270-3477

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------

Please consider making an extra $30 donation (or $300 or $3,000, if you
can!)-in honor of NIRS' 30th anniversary this year-on our secure website
here.
<https://secure.campagne-online.com/registrant/donate.aspx?EventID=2927&
LangPref=en-CA>  Help kick off our next 30 years, and our work to build
a nuclear-free, carbon-free energy future, with your most generous
contribution possible.

 

And if you haven't done so yet, don't forget to sign the statement on
nuclear power and climate at www.nirs.org <http://www.nirs.org/>  (but
please don't sign more than once!). If you've already signed, please ask
your friends and colleagues to sign! You can send the petition to your
friends by going to:
http://www.nirs.org/petition2/thanks.php?id=829fcdea1bbbd9dd6b66683d5f10
eb88

We've passed 7750 7830 signatures, let's get to 10,000 this month!

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------

This is the NIRS E-Mail Alert list. You are on this list because you
signed up on our website, at a NIRS table at a concert, on a petition,
or directly to NIRS. Your name and address are never sold, rented, or
traded with anyone for any reason.

 

For address changes or to unsubscribe, just send an e-mail to
nirsnet at nirs.org. If you have friends or colleagues who would like to be
on this list, have them send a note to nirsnet at nirs.org

 

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mail.energyjustice.net/pipermail/nukenet_energyjustice.net/attachments/20080604/d837cce1/attachment-0001.html