Clint Wolfe opines that since nuclear power has an impressive record for safety and good economic performance in the United States, and does not face the price volatility that natural gas does, it will be with us for a long time.
Consider safety. These days, according to a national poll, 81 percent of the people who live within a 10-mile radius of a nuclear plant favor the use of nuclear power and where 47 percent strongly. Among the public at large, 68 percent favor nuclear power, 29 percent strongly.
Even more revealing is that 86 percent of plant neighbors say they have a favorable impression of the nuclear plant closest to where they live and the way it has operated in recent years. Safety is the main reason for this view, inasmuch as 84 percent gave their local plants a high rating for safety.
What seems so revealing to Wolfe about the poll is that it indicates supporters of nuclear power are being upstaged by opponents whose false and misleading claims seem to garner much of the attention from Washington policymakers. This is especially clear to Wolfe when he tries to understand why the current Obama administration, which professes to be concerned about climate change, did not include carbon-free nuclear power in a directive requiring the federal government to purchase 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Anyone who talks about a lack of support for nuclear power simply has not done the math.
The evidence is overwhelming that by failing to respond effectively to public support for nuclear by not even making the need for a balanced mix of sources a top energy priority, the administration is impeding the long-term growth of nuclear power and stunting potential reductions in our greenhouse gas emissions. A heavily biased forecast by the EIA gives it only 3 percent of new capacity for electricity generation through 2040. The numbers are wrong and misguided.
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