THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 272, October 19, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
LET'S GO NUCLEAR
By Alan Caruba
THE ENVIRONMENTALIST MOVEMENT & ITS LONG HISTORY OF OPPOSITION TO NUCLEAR ENERGY: WHY THE
ENVIRONMENTALISTS OPPOSE NUCLEAR ENERGY -- THE SAME REASON WHY THEY OPPOSE MORE ELECTRICITY FOR
AMERICANS, REGARDLESS OF WHAT GENERATES THE ELECTRICITY -- THE SAME REASON WHY THE GREENS OPPOSE
USE OF COAL & ANY EXPLORATION & DRILLING FOR OIL & NATURAL GAS -- THEIR OPPOSITION TO ALL EXPANSION &
DEVELOPMENT, EVEN AS THE AMERICAN POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW
FULL STORY:
How do you know when a Green — a hardcore environmentalist — is lying to you? When his lips are moving. Okay, it’s a
cliché used in other cases as well, but it is especially true when the latest absurd claim comes flying at you courtesy of the
mainstream media.
Take nuclear energy as an example. A new survey by Bisconti Research, taken since one conducted in April, 2008, revealed
“a record-high 74% of Americans favor nuclear energy, with only 24% opposed.” That’s a big change in just five months
and, no doubt, has a lot to do with the growing public realization that America will have an energy crisis on its hands if it
does not permit new plants to be built.
“The unprecedented levels of support for nuclear energy found in this survey,” said Ann Bisconti, “can be attributed to
growing concerns about energy and focus on energy alternatives.” There are few real alternatives. At present, coal-fired
plants generate just over 50% of electricity and nuclear represents about 20%. The rest is made up by hydroelectric, and
some natural gas. The much touted “clean” energy sources, solar and wind, only 1%.
The Greens have a long history of being opposed to nuclear energy, claiming it is too dangerous and there’s no place to
put the spent rods. However, they have also been shouting about the need for “clean” energy that does not emit
“greenhouse gases.” Nuclear does not do that. It emits water vapor in the form of steam, and water vapor is a key element
of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Moreover, there hasn’t been an accident since the problem encountered by Three Mile Island in 1979. Even then, no one
was harmed. The technology since then has ensured that the nuclear energy industry is astonishingly safe.
There’s a billion dollar facility, Yucca Mountain, waiting to receive nuclear waste, but the Senate Majority Leader, Harry
Reid, (Democrat - Nevada) refuses to allow it to begin operation. The facility recently received clearance from the
Environmental Protection Agency for meeting a stringent radiation protection standard. You would get more radiation from
a CAT scan than Yucca Mountain.
So, while Greens tout wind and solar, two of the least effective and reliable ways to provide for the nation’s energy needs,
they continue to bad mouth nuclear as a viable alternative. Its popularity is such that developing nations all over the world
are seeking to build their own nuclear plants. India, for example, is embarked on an ambitious program.
Greens are actively opposing nuclear energy. Friends of the Earth, a leading environmentist organization, is engaged in
a program to denigrate nuclear energy, calling Yucca Mountain “a false solution that would run trains full of toxic nuclear
waste through neighborhoods like yours.” This ignores the fact that all manner of toxic materials move around the nation
every day for manufacturing and other purposes. And they do it safely.
So, what do the Greens want? It’s more like what they don’t want. They don’t want more electricity for Americans, no matter
what generates it.
They are opposed to all expansion and development, even as the population continues to grow. That’s why you will find
Greens trying to stop any form of development, whether it’s more land use for housing or more energy for electricity to light
and heat it. That’s why they are against any exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas and against coal.
They are against the timber industry, too, and the production and consumption of meat, claiming that raising livestock
contributes to global warming.
There is no global warming. The Earth is in a new cooling cycle, but that doesn’t slow the deluge of lies.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Environmentalism Versus Human Progress & Prosperity:
Policy Issues Relating to Energy, Environment,
& Natural Resources
The Earth's Natural History, Global Climate Changes,
& the Future of Human Life & Civilization on the Planet:
Science, Ideology, & Public Policy
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s most recent book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press. Books
previously authored by Caruba include A Pocket Guide to Militant Islam, The United Nations Versus the United States: The
UN's Plan to Control Planet Earth, and America: A Nation Without Borders -- A Pocket Guide to Immigration Issues.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity