"Mr. President, the American people get it. The manufacturing industry gets it. Organized labor gets it. And the international community, who are committed to reducing greenhouse gasses, certainly gets it.
And what do all these parties get?
"It's time that President Obama and this Congress get it, and we get on with launching the nuclear renaissance in this country. We just can't get there from here without nuclear."
This comes from Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), whose ringing support for nuclear energy came through clear as can be on the floor of the Senate. (Ohio has two units, at Davis-Besse and Perry.)
While he’s an all-of-the-above energy advocate, he recognizes the unique combination of properties nuclear energy brings forth.
"Don't get me wrong. I do support expanding the use of renewables like solar and wind energy. My point is that, realistically, we are not yet in a position to be able to rely upon them for base-load power generation, perhaps for the next several decades. They are too expensive and inefficient. And this is despite already receiving massive government subsidies."
And:
“{Nuclear’s] the best source that we have available to serve our energy needs while also curbing greenhouse gas emissions."
Now, Sen. Voinovich is talking about specific legislation that he feels has slighted nuclear energy issues, but that’s almost a secondary point. The primary point is that the polls no longer show nuclear energy as a fearsome beast of the imagination and can be recognized for what it is: a specific solution to specific problems facing the nation. In the words of Sen. Voinovich, he gets it.
Himself.
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