WASHINGTON, DC, US, February 14, 2007
More than 100 groups have told U.S. president George Bush that nuclear is not a renewable source of energy.
In his efforts to promote nuclear and to promote construction of new reactors, Bush has frequently attempted to portray nuclear technology as being ‘renewable,’ argues the Sustainable Energy Network. In a recent interview on National Public Radio, Bush is quoted as saying “if you're really interested in global warming and climate change, then it seems like to me that we ought to promote technologies to advance the development of safe nuclear power. It's a renewable source of energy, and at the same time has no emissions to it.”
In a letter to the White House, 108 environmental, business, consumer, faith-based, and energy policy organizations refuted the claim. The letter was also signed by 22 individual citizens who object to efforts to revive the nuclear industry by defining it as ‘renewable’ so it could be included in a future federal Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard or supported by federal tax incentives or research programs specifically designed to promote renewable energy technologies.
“Please be advised that nuclear power is neither a renewable nor a clean source of energy,” the letter explains. “For that matter, oil, coal, and natural gas are also not renewable or clean sources of energy.”
“Nuclear power and fossil fuels are environmentally polluting and non-renewable sources of energy that produce long-term radioactive wastes and/or greenhouse gas emissions,” and the letter says primary renewables are biomass, geothermal, solar, water (hydropower, tidal, wave, ocean currents), and wind. “It would be inappropriate to include nuclear power or any fossil fuel technologies in a federal Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard.”
Organizations which signed the letter include the Alliance for Affordable Energy, Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, Bergey Windpower, Canary Coalition, Coalition for Global Warming Solutions, Friends of the Earth, Green Building Institute, Greenpeace USA, Jews Of The Earth, Natural Resources Defense Council, Nuclear Policy Research Institute, Sierra Club, Sierra Geothermal, Sierra Solar Systems, Solar Energy International, USPIRG: The National Association of State PIRGs and numerous state renewable energy groups.
The Sustainable Energy Network is an informal network to promote “aggressive development of renewable energy and energy efficient technologies as alternatives to nuclear power, energy imports, and GHG-producing sources of energy.”