The cooling towers of Three Mile Island's Unit 1 Nuclear Power Plant pour steam into the sky in Middletown, Pa., March 17, 2009.

Obama’s Nuclear Loan Guarantee Plan Draws  Opposition. USA Today, February 1, 2010. “A campaign is already underway to oppose the tripling of loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants, included in President Obama’s 2011 budget (and Energy Fact Sheet) unveiled on Monday. A bevy of environmental, taxpayer and scientific groups . . . .  are criticizing Obama’s proposal to increase loan guarantees for new nuclear plants from $18.5 billion to $54.5 billion. The guarantees could bolster GOP support for his bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which passed the House of Representatives but is pending in the Senate. In a letter to Obama, four groups – the National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, the George Marshall Institute and the Non-Proliferation Education Center — oppose an expansion of loan guarantees for new nuclear plants. . . “

Instead of focusing on opposing nuclear plants, these groups should brainstorm ways to shut down all U.S. coal plants, which kill more people and harm the environment more than any nuclear plants in the U.S. ever have.  The French have an excellent record of safety, so the U.S. could too, if it put more money and effort into it.  A disturbing story about tritium leaks from CBS news came out yesterday, and these problems have to be addressed as soon as possible.  Radioactive tritium, a carcinogen, now taints at least 27 of the nation’s 104 nuclear reactors

But new nuclear designs and replaced parts in old plants will help solve this problem, if they can be funded and built very soon.  The “pebble bed” design, the 4th generation nuclear plant designs offer a lot of promise for safety and keeps the radioactive material  in the reactor vessel. Nuclear energy is nearly CO2-free and has an obvious place in our energy future.  I wish “environmentalists” who are worried about climate change (as I am) would understand that conservation is not adequate to solve our massive emissions problems quickly enough.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu Announces Commission on Nuclear Waste. — U.S. DOE, January 29, 2010. “As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to restarting America’s nuclear industry, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on January 29 announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future to provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the Nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The Commission is being co-chaired by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. In light of the Administration’s decision not to proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, President Obama has directed Secretary Chu to establish the Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The Commission will provide advice and make recommendations on issues including alternatives for the storage, processing, and disposal of civilian and defense spent nuclear fuel and [...]