http://www.press-citizen.com/article/20120517/OPINION02/305170020/Nuclear-bill-would-been-disaster-Iowa
Nuclear bill would have been a disaster for Iowa
In a major blow to the nuclear industry, the Iowa Legislature adjourned
without passing a bill that would pave the way for MidAmerican Energy to
charge ratepayers in advance for new nuclear reactor construction. The
utility would have been allowed to keep the money even if construction was
never completed.
MidAmerican lobbied extensively for the bill but Iowa ratepayers’ concerns
about nuclear power doomed the proposal. An Iowa Poll sponsored by Des
Moines Register in January found that over three quarters of Iowans were
opposed to the measure. The legislation was unneeded — nuclear is already
allowed in Iowa if it can compete with alternatives.
The failure of this nuclear bill shows that the Iowa Legislature is
listening to the people of Iowa and not to the well-financed nuclear power
industry or to MidAmerican Energy’s lobbyists. Wall Street refuses to fund
these nuclear boondoggles and so do the private investors of MidAmerican
Energy.
Now the Iowa Legislature has stepped up and said no to Iowa ratepayer
funding as well. And they have good reason: nuclear reactors are dirty,
dangerous, expensive, and produce deadly waste for which there is no
solution.
Nuclear reactors are so 20th-century and should be left there. We need to
move into the 21st century by emphasizing a clean energy future that relies
on energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energies and smart
grid technologies.
Friends of the Earth worked with local and national groups including AARP,
Environmental Law and Policy Center, Iowa Chapter of the Sierra Club, Green
State Solutions, Iowa PIRG, Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Farmers Union,
Iowa Move to Amend, CREDO Action and Physicians for Social Responsibility
in the debate about the cost recovery bill, taking out radio and TV ads,
phoning more than 100,000 Iowans, and mobilizing thousands of activists who
called and wrote their elected officials.
This is a victory for all the people of Iowa, who will not have to worry
about bearing the financial or safety risks of new nuclear reactors. Iowans
recognize that nuclear reactors are inherently dangerous. Already a
national leader in wind power, Iowa is ready to move away from the dirty
energy sources of the past, including nuclear, and lead the country toward
clean 21st century energy future.
This also is a victory for Mike Gronstal and the Iowa Senate Democrats for
standing up for consumers and a loss for Kraig Paulsen and the Iowa House
for passing the bill on the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster — a month after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
*Iowa City resident Mike Carberry is the Iowa nuclear campaign coordinator
for Friends of the Earth.*
--
Mike Carberry
Green State Solutions-Director
Friends of the Earth-Iowa Nuclear Campaign Coordinator
319-594-6453
[log in to unmask]
www.foe.org
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To unsubscribe from the IOWA-TOPICS list, send any message to:
[log in to unmask]
Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information:
http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp
Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship
e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's
latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent
editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/
|
