Nuclear Energy and Climate Policy

After reviewing a series of announcements from the Bush Administration regarding nuclear energy, Roger Pielke, Jr. at the University of Colorado at Boulder thinks something else might be going on:

All of this looks to me like the Bush Administration is working towards some sort of major new initiative or announcement on nuclear power, all but certainly linked to the climate issue. Such an announcement would be responsive to Tony Blair’s calls for the U.S. to become more engaged in the climate issue, and would also raise some difficult issues for Bush’s historical opponents on the climate issue. The upcoming G8 meeting in Scotland in July would be a perfect opportunity to announce such an initiative.

For more information on the environmental benefits of nuclear energy, click here. Back in March, my colleague Mary Quillian posted about how nuclear capacity contributes to helping the electrical industry comply with emission caps under the Clean Air Interstate Rule. For more of Roger's thoughts on the future of the industry, click here.

Technorati tags: Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

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NEI Nuclear Notes

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