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CCAN on New Nuclear Build

By Eric McErlain
Here's something that might be of interest to the friends of the nuclear power plants at Calvert Cliffs in Maryland and North Anna in Virginia. The folks over at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network blog are asking their readers what they think of nuclear energy. Here's their position:
In terms of greenhouse gas reductions [nuclear energy] is not a deal breaker. Despite the many negatives of nuclear energy, one positive is that it generates almost no carbon dioxide. [CCAN does] not advocate building a single new nuclear power plant, but neither [does it] advocate shutting down existing ones in the face of rapid global warming.
While I'm happy to see the folks at CCAN acknowledging the contribution that nuclear energy plays in helping to constrain greenhouse gas emissions going forward, I can't help but be struck by this balancing act. After all, if you're going to concede that point, isn't it implicit in this position that environmentalists were wrong to oppose nuclear energy in the first place?

In any case, I'm happy to see some evolution in their position, and hold out hope that we might see some more. I'm also heartened by the fact that they seem to be open to a dialog with outsiders. So be sure to stop by and join the debate.
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Stewart Peterson said…
>>After all, if you're going to concede that point, isn't it implicit in this position that environmentalists were wrong to oppose nuclear energy in the first place?

No, not at all. They think it will make the problem worse, regardless of any evidence that we present.

Does it follow? No. If you ask them, will they respond with something other than a list of the industry's attitude problems from the 1970s? No. Can they make a sensible argument against it without rationalizations? No. Does it matter to them more than their loyalty to opposing the environmentalist "bad stuff" list, of which nuclear power is a charter member? Of course not.

Our task is to remove these people's base of support so that they're irrelevant.
September 20, 2007 at 1:07 PM
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