Clean Energy Insight - Moving Energy Forward

Clean Energy Insight has created a Fact Sheet for 2009 focused on New Nuclear Plants and their benefits.  I’ve attached the Fact Sheet for you to use in any way that you would like.  Attach it to a pro-nuclear letter you are sending your Congressman, or just send it to a colleague or friend.

Clean Energy Insight - New Nuclear Plant Fact Sheet 2009

( By Carrington Dillon ) [Approx. Read Time: 2.5 minutes]

The News & Advance from Lynchburg, VA recently provided a short re-cap of the recent Waxman-Markey Cap-and-Trade Bill that passed in the House of Representatives.  In this article, the News & Advance noted that Nuclear Power wasn’t given its due in the Bill’s pages.  The newspaper from Virginia also encouraged readers to contact their Senators (Mark Warner and Jim Webb) and encourage them to revise the Senate version of the Bill to include more provisions that recognize that more Nuclear Power is needed for this country to gain energy independence and greenhouse gas reduction goals.  See the article here.

“As initially crafted by Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman, of California, and Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, HR 2454 contained no mention whatsoever of the role of nuclear power in America’s energy future. For a major piece of legislation designed to plot America’s 21st century energy roadmap and address concerns about climate change, that omission was shocking, to say the least…

…so far as nuclear energy is concerned, the bill is woefully lacking. Many people in the environmental community become apoplectic at the very mention of the word “nuclear,” with visions of Three Mile Island in their heads.

The bill is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate where, perhaps, more rational thinking will emerge.

For America to reach the energy goals set forth in the bill, especially those on carbon emissions and renewable generation, more power will have to be generated by nuclear plants. It’s that simple. The nation’s generating capacity is stretch to the limits today, with coal doing much of the heavy lifting. But coal is also the biggest source of carbon emissions.

Conservation, wind generation, biomass generation and any other niche source of power simply will not meet the nation’s growing needs. Nuclear has to be the linch pin of America’s energy future…

So start calling and e-mailing Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb (warner.senate.gov and webb.senate.gov). Tell Virginia’s two U.S. senators that the energy bill needs some serious revisions and that nuclear power needs a bigger presence.

Time’s a’wasting.”

Thank you, News & Advance.  You people from Virginia–get on it.

( By Carrington Dillon )

I found this poll (courtesy of Zogby International) a while back while searching for material to stash in my Favorites for this website.  After seeing some polling data previously, I thought that most of the polling data was typical and to be expected.  However, something just came off the screen and really hit me in the face.  One piece of data… 18-24 year olds were the least supportive age group for nuclear power!

Only 47% of 18-24 year olds were supportive of building new nuclear plants.  67% of adults are supportive of nuclear power and 78% of those over the age of 65 are supportive.  The technology generation is against one of the most advanced technologies that the human race has ever created.  Is it popular culture, video games, rap music?

There are so many things that went through my head for a couple of days after I saw this.  But instead of telling you what I think is the reason for this trend, I’d like to try something new.  I’d like for my fellow NA-YGN members to comment and let me know what they think the cause is.  I would also like for them to come up with some ideas on how we can reach this college-aged group.

We may be able to use some of these ideas for our advocacy efforts in the future.  Recently, I have been working with others in NA-YGN on ideas to reach school-aged kids with nuclear advocacy.  This will go along perfectly with those efforts and hopefully create some good ideas in the process.  Feel free to let loose with the discussion.  Let’s see what you can come up with.

One of the issues that Clean Energy Insight is supporting at the moment is the opportunity to mine the biggest Uranium deposit in US history in Pittsylvania County, VA (www.virginiauranium.com).  Two of the people on our team are from this area and have seen the tens of thousands of jobs that have been lost during their lifetimes in the textile and furniture industries.  By mining this deposit in Southwest Virginia, we can provide high-paying jobs and energy for our future.  It sounds like a good idea to me.

Aaron Ruby of the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance (www.virginiaenergy.org) has submitted a letter to CEI to provide more information on this issue.  Thanks a lot, Aaron.

America is too dependent on foreign uranium

The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance has a solution

America is too dependent on foreign sources of uranium.  The Virginia Energy Independence Alliance (VEIA)—a broad-based coalition of more than 500 concerned citizens, industries, associations and academia from across Virginia and beyond—wants to develop Virginia’s abundant, untapped uranium supply to break America’s dependence.

Nuclear energy supplies 20% of America’s electricity and 37% of Virginia’s.  Nuclear energy is cheaper than wind and solar, cleaner than coal, oil and natural gas, and the most efficient energy source in the world—bar none.

While America and Virginia are undergoing a nuclear renaissance that promises to vastly expand our nuclear power generation, America is increasingly dependent on unreliable foreign countries for our supply of nuclear fuel.  How could this possibly make sense? America imports 92% of the uranium we use each year to fuel nuclear energy.  Virginia imports 100%.  Where do we get our uranium?

We import anywhere from 30%-50% of our uranium from Russia.  By 2013, all the uranium we import from Russia will come from the Kremlin-run uranium enrichment company, Techsnabexport.  How will America fuel our nuclear power if the Kremlin cuts off our supply of uranium - as it did to Eastern Europe’s natural gas supply in early 2009?  This dependence is dangerous, and puts our national security and future energy supply at risk.

One solution to our dependence is right under our feet in Southside Virginia’s Pittsylvania County.  Pittsylvania County is home to the largest untapped uranium deposit in the United States.  The Coles Hill deposit—as it is known—could contain enough uranium to supply Virginia’s current nuclear power demand for the next 65 years.

As one of the most economically distressed regions of the Country, with unemployment reaching almost 15% in some areas, Southside Virginia desperately needs economic opportunity.  Mining and milling the deposit will create as many as 500 new, local jobs, generate millions in local tax dollars each year and stimulate job creation in other related local industries.<

A decades-old moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia is the only obstacle standing in the way of developing this vital resource and reaping its abundant rewards.  Fortunately, science is on our side.  Modern nuclear energy and uranium mining are safe.  The National Academy of Sciences is conducting an 18-month study of uranium mining in Virginia that will lead the way to energy independence and 500 new jobs in Southside Virginia.

To find more information and join the VEIA, visit their Web site, www.virginiaenergy.org.  You may also show your support by signing the VEIA petition at www.virginiaenergy.org/support-the-cause/sign-the-petition or by joining the Virginia Energy Independence Alliance Facebook fan page.

The solutions to our challenges are right under our feet - right here in Virginia.  Let’s use them to cure America’s dependence on foreign energy.

American Energy Independence from Jason Phillips on Vimeo.