Press Release
04/23/07Third Way Releases Nuclear Paper
Washington: Third Way today released a new memo urging policymakers and advocates to take a new look at nuclear power. In “Another Inconvenient Truth,” the group argues that expanding domestic nuclear power is crucial to solving the twin problems of global warming and energy security.
The Third Way paper makes three main points:
1. Expanding nuclear power will make a difference in addressing global warming.
2. Embracing nuclear power by progressive leaders would have a galvanizing impact on the public, demonstrating the severity of the climate change problem and the need for everyone to make hard choices.
3. Moving forward efficiently on nuclear power could help provide momentum to take additional steps to curb carbon emissions.
Co-author Matt Bennett noted that “nuclear power is one of the only low-carbon, mature power sources we’ve got. And if we don’t move quickly to expand our nuclear power generation capacity, America’s huge and expanding demand for energy will result in an explosion of new coal-burning power plants.”
The Third Way paper points out that the debate over global warming has transformed the views of many on this issue. But while some environmental leaders have embraced nuclear power, many others remain hostile to the one source of energy that already provides a significant percentage of America’s power supply without contributing to climate change. The paper argues that a change in that posture could have a galvanizing impact on the public’s view of global warming: “if advocates were to embrace nuclear power, which many have spent their careers fighting, it would prove to the public that a dramatic shift in our thinking as a nation is required when our way or life or very existence may be at risk.”
Co-author John Dyson, a former Chairman of the New York State Power Authority, said: “in the late 1990s, nuclear power looked moribund in the United States. But there’s been a nuclear renaissance of late, and I am heartened by the changes that the industry and the government have made to make nuclear power safer and more efficient than it’s ever been.”
The Third Way paper acknowledges that serious questions about nuclear waste, cost and other matters remain. But, the authors argue, the risks of not expanding nuclear power in the face of the grave threat of global warming are far greater.
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Contact: Matt Bennett (202) 775-3768 x212