Nuclear Energy to help Power a Greener Economy, Says CASEnergy Co-Chair
As Congress considers a nuclear title as part of climate legislation, CASEnergy Co-Chair Governor Christine Todd Whitman spoke with key stakeholder groups and media outlets on November 4. The Governor highlighted nuclear energy’s vital role to help mitigate the effects of climate change, as well as its potential to boost the economy of local communities through the creation of hundreds of permanent jobs.
Following his interview with Governor Whitman, the Wall Street Journal’s “Environmental Capital” blog reporter Keith Johnson recast the climate change debate as one that primarily hinges on jobs. In his post “Pushing for Energy Legislation, Pushing for Jobs,” Johnson argues that “the energy debate is ever more a jobs debate—unions aren’t just signing up for the Blue-Green Alliance, but also flocking to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, a pro-nuclear group that touts the job-creation potential of a U.S. revival of nuclear power.” Additionally Governor Whitman suggests in the piece that clean energy, including nuclear, can help America regain its industrial competitiveness by creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector. She noted that “we aren’t going to just sit on the sideline” while other countries revitalize their nuclear-manufacturing capability.
Gov. Whitman also talked with Investor’s Business Daily reporter Sean Higgins following his recent piece that positioned nuclear power as a way to help meet national carbon emission reduction targets currently being debated by Congress.
As the nuclear moratorium debate heats up in Wisconsin, Gov. Whitman spoke with Wisconsin Public Radio’s “At Issue with Ben Merens,” an afternoon drive-time policy talk show which broadcasts throughout the state. Gov. Whitman discussed a number of nuclear’s clean energy advantages and addressed spent fuel misconceptions, arguing that spent nuclear fuel can be safely stored at current facilities for the next thirty years and that with reprocessing and recycling, current waste can be drastically reduced. Former NRC Commissioner Peter Bradford presented a counter-point on nuclear following her one-on-one interview.