Julia Bovey's Blog
Smells Like Radioactive Pork. Ew.
December 11, 2007
Posted by Julia Bovey in Nuclear Weapons, Waste and Energy , U.S. Law and Policy
We can’t waste time around here patting ourselves on the back, and never is this more apparent than in the case of the relentless attempt to get American taxpayers to dole out even more cash to the world’s most environmentally problematic and fiscally disasterous source of energy: nuclear power.
We yelled ourselves hoarse getting the nuclear loan guarantees out of the energy bill passed by Congress last week. Folks thought there was no way we could do it, but we did. The bill passed without a dime for nukes.
But now, a whole week after that vote to make investments in new, renewable energy, we hear that Congress – that’s right, the one with the Democratic majority elected a year ago to bring change to Washington– has stuck the $25 billion for loan guarantees in the omnibus spending bill. This is an eighth night of Hanukah/early Christmas present from Congress to an undeserving and degenerative industry. This is a gargantuan public policy failure. And guess who pays? You and me.
How much is $25 billion in Washington, you ask? Are we talking about real money here? Well, President Bush is asking for $7.2 billion to fund the EPA for the next three years. So $25 billion in radioactive pork is three times what it costs to run the EPA for three years. Yeah, it’s real money.
What’s funny – the pathetic kind of funny – is that both the President and Congress are hollering about getting rid of pork, slashing earmarks, returning to the halcyon days of small government. Do where does $25 billion in loan guarantees for a handful of our nation’s most profitable companies fit in the quest for fiscal common sense?
Should Americans invest in energy? Absolutely. Clean renewable energy – the energy of the future – that will beat back global warming and free us from dependence on the Middle East. Wind. Solar. Geothermal. The next generation of cellulosic biofuels I like to call “grassoline” that will be cleaner, cheaper and far less resource intensive than corn ethanol. If we’re going to spend public money on energy, these are projects that deserve it.
As for the nuclear industry, how about borrowing money on the open market like every other business has to? What? No one will loan you money? How come? Oh, because you probably can’t pay it back? Because your business model isn’t viable? Well then, should you really be borrowing money? Can’t build new nukes without it? Well, maybe you should look into building something else. Ever hear of wind turbines?
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Comments
robert phillips — Dec 11 2007 05:05 PM
"horse" should read "hoarse". That aside you guys do a great job.
Michelle Embry — Dec 13 2007 02:26 PM
I feel that the goveernment is letting its peole down and kil;ling the environment. If they really wanna make a difference then they need to start know not wait. I think we need to takle a stand against this travisty and rise up against the govermnet and tell them the people are not going to take this sitting down.