Nuclear power gets a political boost
Almost 30 years after the last operating license was issued for a nuclear power plant, the controversial energy source is beginning to see a surprising groundswell in political support. President Bush has long championed nuclear power as a means of achieving energy independence, but some environmentalists and policy experts say nuclear power may also be the key to reducing greenhouse gas reductions—an idea that may force more Democrats to accept what has long been a boogeyman to the left.
"Coming to grips with nuclear power is going to be important to any climate-change bill," said a key Democratic staffer on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "I think folks are going to have to come around on that."
While many environmentalists and Democrats would prefer to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through renewable energy sources like wind and solar power, most experts agree that nuclear power, which currently generates 20 percent of the country's electricity, could fill the void left by depletion of fossil fuels.
"It would be pretty irresponsible for Democrats to say we want to cut back on fossil fuels and not support nuclear," says Michael Kraft, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay who specializes in environmental policy. "If Democrats made it a little easier to move forward on nuclear power, that might make Republicans more inclined to support a climate-change initiative."
The group Environmental Defense has stopped short of a full-throated endorsement of nuclear power, citing ongoing and significant problems with proliferation, waste disposal, and safety.
"But at the same time, global warming is such an overwhelming problem that we need to keep nuclear power on the table as an option," says spokesman Charlie Miller.
That view is echoed by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The group's president, Eileen Claussen, says Democrats are going to have to come around on the issue "as a practical matter."
But, for the immediate future, the chance of that happening remains slim. While last year's energy bill, which contained billions of dollars in incentives for utility companies to pursue nuclear power, sailed through the Senate by a vote of 84 to 12, observers say Democratic support had more to do with politics than an endorsement of nuclear power.
A Bush proposal sent to Congress earlier this month to expedite work on the stalled Yucca Mountain projecthttp://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/ymp/index.shtml in Nevada—where spent nuclear fuel would be buried—has run into fierce resistance by the state's senior senator, Democratic leader Harry Reid. He said the legislation was "not even on life support. It's dead when it gets here."
And last year, a bill capping greenhouse gas emissions, cosponsored by Sens. John McCain and Joe Lieberman, lost votes from Democrats after a provision was added that supported nuclear power. A climate-change bill faces other obstacles as well, such as persuading emerging economic giants like China and India to restrain their own emissions. Despite the challenges, the growing debate over climate change and the continued call for energy independence have more and more political observers believing that nuclear power may be losing its radioactivity – at least in Washington.