Skip to main content

Mr. Burns Makes Surprise Appearance in D.C.

By
Working in Washington, D.C., I’ve become very accustomed to seeing street protests of all types and sizes. From the big, inflatable scary rat that pops up on a sidewalk, to construction workers chanting and banging on drums, to the truckers of America riding on Independence Avenue honking their horns, there’s always a little something for anyone who is ready, willing and able to protest.
So, when I saw this little nugget in last Monday’s Politico Morning Energy, I got very excited to see what the day would hold:
Noon - The group Beyond Nuclear holds a Halloween event in front of DOE headquarters to protest federal support for nuclear power. Costumes and street theater have been promised.
Costumes? Street theater? What more could a girl want on Halloween?
Well ... exactly that!
BeyondNuclearProtestDOE_10-31-11
The group was not as organized as one might think. Other than “Mr. Burns” speaking into a camera, I’d call the “Scream Rally” a poor showing at best.
But, Beyond Nuclear, the proud organizers of this event, still heralded it a “screaming” success (pardon the pun) in their weekly newsletter.
Staff from Beyond Nuclear along with representatives from Pax Christi and other organizations were at the DOE on the last day of public comment on the [blue ribbon] commission’s draft report.
I’m guessing several of the “representatives” had to call in sick to the rally given that Halloween fell on a Monday and they probably had to do their day jobs. Regardless, the poorly attended rally did give “Mr. Burns” the platform he needed to voice his opinions on nuclear energy.
image
I guess I’ll have to stay tuned for the next “protest” to grace D.C. streets.
Photo of Beyond Nuclear protestors in front of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Forrestal building.
Labels:

Comments

Joffan said…
I always hope for good arguments from my opponents. I am rarely obliged with such on nuclear power matters. Argument-from-cartoon is, unfortunately, about par.
November 7, 2011 at 6:15 PM
D Pulaski said…
It's right up there with the people dressed as zombies at the TVA hearing to restart Bellefonte.
November 8, 2011 at 10:37 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fluor Invests in NuScale

By
You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...
1 comment
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more