Nuclear Energy

Poll: Support For Nuclear Power Drops, Support For Oil Drilling Up

Jon Terbush | March 22, 2011, 12:32PM

Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plant

After the BP oil spill, Americans became increasingly wary of offshore drilling. Now, as Japan struggles to deal with an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant, a new Pew poll shows a spike in opposition to nuclear power here in the U.S. -- while support for offshore drilling is making a comeback.

The two findings aren't necessarily related to each other, as support for offshore drilling began rising late last year. But the results suggest that, as was the case with the oil spill, an energy production disaster can quickly turn public opinion against that form of energy production.

Read more »

Nuclear Energy

Boehner: The United States Should Be More Like France -- When It Comes To Nuclear Energy

Brian Beutler | March 16, 2011, 1:13PM

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)

Reacting to the nuclear meltdown crisis playing out in Japan, House Speaker John Boehner told an audience at a job creation forum Wednesday that the United States should and will learn lessons from the tragedy. But in the meantime, the country should aim to increase its reliance on nuclear energy -- much like France.

"I don't think there's any question that there are a lot of lessons to be learned by what's happening in Japan, and there's no question we will learn from that," Boehner said.

But there are nuclear reactors operating all over the world. Eighty-two percent of the electricity produced in France comes from nuclear sources, and has done so successfully for decades. Only 20 percent of the electricity in the United States comes from nuclear sources.

So I think let's learn the lessons, let's understand what safeguards if any additional safeguards need to be put in place. But let's not just say like we have for the last 30 years, we're not even going to look at it because we're afraid of it.

Read more »

Nuclear Energy

Markey Calls On U.S. To Dispense Anti-Radiation Pills

Susan Crabtree | March 16, 2011, 11:55AM

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) is calling on the U.S. government to require residents within 20 miles of a nuclear plant to have iodine tablets on hand as sales of the pills in the U.S. and Canada soar in response to the nuclear explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

It's been 22 years since scientists recommended implementing the tablet policy after the Three Mile Island incident, Markey said.

Read more »

Nuclear Energy

Could House Restore Nuclear Safety Funding?

Benjy Sarlin | March 16, 2011, 10:02AM

U.S. lawmakers are sticking to their past support for nuclear power despite Japan's ongoing crisis, but the disaster could put the kibosh on proposed funding cuts to nuclear safety programs in America.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has called on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where he is the ranking minority member, to hold hearings on nuclear safety, and National Journal quotes a Republican aide saying that there will a budget hearing on the issue in the wake of Japan. The Republicans' proposed bill funding the government through September would cut $131 million from the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy as well as $1.4 billion from emergency response training to chemical and radioactive disasters.

Read more »

Libya

White House Lays Out New Option on Libya

Susan Crabtree | March 15, 2011, 4:50PM

As Muammar Qaddafi's forces push east and bare down on opposition rebels, the White House continues to deflect calls for a no-fly zone in Libya, instead offering up an entirely new option Tuesday.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. is trying to find ways to free up some of billions of dollars of assets seized from the Libyan leader's government to provide help for the opposition. He was short on details about the plan as reporters peppered him with questions about whether the tide has already turned in Qaddafi's favor.

Read more »

Eric Cantor

Eric Cantor: Don't Borrow From Japan to Aid Japan

Benjy Sarlin | March 14, 2011, 3:55PM

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA)

Eric Cantor (R-VA) pushed aside criticism on Monday that GOP budget cuts would compromise America's ability to detect a Japan-style tsunami and help allies like Japan with their own disasters.

The president of the National Weather Service Employees Organization warned last week that the Republican House's spending plan would cut funding for NOAA by $450 million from President Obama's proposed budget, potentially requiring furloughs at tsunami watch centers. Cantor was asked at his weekly press briefing about the funding as well as cuts to USAID, which provides relief to disaster areas.

"I mean, essentially what you're saying is go borrow from the Japanese so we can go and spend it to help the Japanese," Cantor told reporters.

Read more »

Japan

Japan's Nuclear Aftershocks Hit Obama's Energy Policy

Susan Crabtree | March 14, 2011, 3:54PM

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko

President Obama's plan to overhaul the nation's energy policy, already beset by strong GOP opposition in Congress and the BP oil spill, is facing a new setback as Japan struggles to prevent multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns in the aftermath of Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The President's call for the government to support a new generation of nuclear power plants as part of his "clean energy" agenda is under intense new scrutiny since several nuclear reactors at multiple power plants in Japan were stricken by a cascading series of natural disasters and other failures.

Read more »