Oppose 50 Billion in Nuclear Loan Guarantees

The picture you see is a serious infrastructure crack, and radioactive leak at Entergy's Indian Point.   Our children, our spouses, and our parents and relatives are dying from allowable radiological releases of strontium 90, and tritium.  No United States home owner can get insurance to cover their personal losses from a nuclear incident or terrorist attack.  Now, this failing industry wants to build over 200 new reactors in your neighborhoods, and use your money to pay for it.   

The Congress and Senate in committee can give the nuclear industry a blank check in the form of 50 Billion in loan guarantees, or they can strip them out.
Let your voice be heard, oppose these loan guarantees by signing this petition no later than October 23, 2007.

The picture you see is a serious infrastructure crack, and radioactive leak at Entergy's Indian Point.   Our children, our spouses, and our parents and relatives are dying from allowable radiological releases of strontium 90, and tritium.  No United States home owner can get insurance to cover their personal losses from a nuclear incident or terrorist attack.  Now, this failing industry wants to build over 200 new reactors in your neighborhoods, and use your money to pay for it.   

The Congress and Senate in committee can give the nuclear industry a blank check in the form of 50 Billion in loan guarantees, or they can strip them out.
Let your voice be heard, oppose these loan guarantees by signing this petition no later than October 23, 2007.

October 24, 2007

PLEASE OPPOSE LOAN GUARANTEES TO THE NUCLEAR POWER INDUSTRY

Members, U.S. Senate
Members, U.S. House of Representatives
United States Congress
Washington, D.C.

Dear Senator/Representative:

We, the undersigned organizations, businesses, and  activists, concerned about the horrendous safety record of the nuclear industry and its tremendous contribution to Global Warming through thermal discharges are writing to urge that any energy legislation considered by the 110th Congress not include provisions authorizing or otherwise facilitating loan guarantees for the commercial nuclear power industry. 

The Senate-passed energy bill (H.R.6) and the House-passed energy bill (H.R.3221) both contain sweeping provisions that would dramatically alter the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program and potentially provide a virtual blank check from taxpayers for the building of many more nuclear power plants. Indeed, the nuclear industry has already indicated that it wants $25 billion in guarantees for 2008, and another $25 billion for 2009, with untold billions more to come after that.  These subsidies combined with a back door takings through renewal of the Price Anderson Act that eliminate property owners from getting insurance for loses associated with a nuclear accident or terrorist attack amount to American Citizens footing the entire bill, and all risks associated with commercial for profit nuclear energy.

The industry wants these subsidies because after fifty years, America's investment sector will not support the technology without federal underwriting of construction costs, and a full waiver from any liabilities. In fact, Wall Street will not independently invest in more of them, and still no private insurance company will underwrite the possibility of a major reactor disaster. This is not surprising given the industry's dubious safety record, high economic costs and overruns, and inability to solve the problem of radioactive waste disposal. Consequently, additional federal funding directed towards the mature nuclear power industry would be both extremely risky and wasteful.  GNEP alone will carry a long term tax payer price tag of over $500 Billion dollars.

More importantly, nuclear power is being left behind by a revolution in safer, cleaner, and more cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. Biofuels, geothermal, solar, water power, and wind have become the world's fastest-growing energy technologies and have positioned themselves as the best solutions to global warming, rising energy costs, and energy imports.

Nuclear reactor loan guarantees therefore would siphon away limited federal dollars better spent on truly competitive sources of power.

Consequently, we ask that any nuclear loan guarantee provisions be removed from any energy bill considered by Congress and that any type of federal energy loan guarantee programs be designed solely to support promising sustainable energy technologies.