Nuclear power key piece of puzzleApril 8, 2007
2 CommentsThe energy plan introduced by Sen. John Edwards in Iowa recently is one of the fundamental tenets on which he proposes to run for president. While many principles of the plan are noble goals, the plan has a glaring omission.
Edwards fails to mention a critical part of our electricity portfolio in the United States: the necessary role of nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy is already providing 20 percent of our nation’s electricity, and doing so without emitting any greenhouse gases. Nuclear energy accounts for 90 percent of all electric utility reductions in CO2 emissions since 1973, and provides 73 percent of this nation’s emission-free electricity.
Conservation must be one component of a long-term strategy, and America must invest heavily in developing renewable energy sources. Unfortunately these steps alone will not meet America’s estimated 45 percent increase in electricity demand by 2030. We will need more baseload power, and a good place to start is with a proven form of clean electricity.
If Edwards is serious about addressing climate change, then I would urge him to support the benefits a renewed focus on nuclear energy will bring to the United States and the world.
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Christine Todd Whitman,
co-chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition,
Washington, D.C.