Feb 4, 2008

OBAMA's connection to nuclear energy

Exelon, the country's largest nuclear plant operator and one of Mr. Obama's largest sources of campaign money.
Obama introduced a bill to require all nuke plant owners to notify state and local authorities immediately of even small leaks. He has boasted of it on the campaign trail, telling a crowd in Iowa in December that it was "the only nuclear legislation that I've passed." "I just did that last year," he said, to murmurs of approval.
In reality the bill never passed...
Nuclear safety advocates are divided on whether Mr. Obama's efforts yielded any lasting benefits. David A. Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists agreed that "it took the introduction of the bill in the first place to get a reaction from the industry."
"But of course because it is all voluntary," Mr. Lochbaum said, "who's to say where things will be a few years from now?"
VIA-NYT



DALLAS NEWS - Barack Obama says nuclear power should be explored as an energy option. Hillary Rodham Clinton says she's "agnostic" on whether more nuclear plants should be built. . .

John Edwards opposes nuclear power. He has said there's no safe way to dispose of the waste, and reactors take a long time – and a lot of money – to build.

Mr. Obama is in the opposite camp. "We should explore nuclear power as part of the energy mix," he said during last summer's CNN-YouTube debate. Nuclear plants can cut greenhouse gas emissions, he says.

Mrs. Clinton articulates both views. She worries about climate change, as well as nuclear waste spills. But American technology can address those worries, she said during the debate last summer. She doesn't state explicitly whether she supports building new plants...

My guess is she does ;-)