Friend,
We are at an energy crossroads. We could continue rushing blindly down a road strewn with nuclear meltdowns, oil spills, and toxic emissions until we realize too late that we have altered our world’s ability to nourish its inhabitants. Or we could step boldly onto a new road to a time and place where energy is abundant, affordable, and safe for people and our planet. The choice is clear. But as long as the government keeps propping up toxic energy with taxpayer dollars, the roadblocks to a clean energy future are insurmountable.
... help build grassroots momentum for a future free of nuclear emergencies: Forward this message to everyone you know who supports a transition to a clean and safe energy future.
I'm all for ending the government prop-up of energy creation. All it does is distort the price of certain, favored policies, over others. And I'm for cheap, clean power. But the reality is that this just doesn't exist in the way Public Citizen - the author of this letter - hopes. "Clean and safe" pretty much defines nuclear power. We've had what, two accidents, in the entire U.S. No injuries. Compare that to coal and oil, and for fun let's put aside the environmental problems from their burning. You still have oil rig explosions, mine collapses, resulting pollution from obtaining the materials, etc.
Public Citizen's letter is suspiciously quiet about which clean, safe and abundant power source it favors. My guess is wind or solar. But of the two of them, only wind produces a smaller carbon footprint than nuclear. Solar's carbon footprint is actually twice as large. Not to mention the best place for windfarms - which come with their own set of problems outside of having the actual, visible windmills - is in ecologically sensative deserts. And consider the amount of space wind requires to produce 1,000-megawatts over that of nuclear. Geothermal is nice, but requires enough space that it probably isn't an option for cities.
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