No Earth Day for Nuclear Energy

We have to just let Earth Day go. This is a day for our wind and solar friends, who of course have a lock on clean energy:

On this coming 39th anniversary of Earth Day on Wednesday, Michigan is facing one of the greatest energy challenges in its history, with serious implications for the state's environment and its economy… As former governors, we support expanding Michigan's nuclear energy capacity. Carbon-free nuclear energy has long been a workhorse for the state's energy needs, powering one out of every four homes and businesses.

Because nuclear energy, wasn’t that the villain in the China Syndrome that made that nice Jack Lemmon die? Surely there’s no place for such evil in the world.

In these cases, groups are putting local environmental concerns first and the planet second. Wind farms, nuclear power plants and hydroelectric dams are ways of providing clean energy, which would reduce carbon emissions and the threat of global warming.

So we’re willing to bow out on this day of green eco-friendliness. We’ve read the headlines, we’ve heard the No Nukes protests. We get it:

Florida Power & Light has been working hard to emphasize its commitment to green, even as it proposes expanding its nuclear capacity. Its parent, FPL Group, has long been the nation's leader in wind and solar power. ''We believe in doing the right thing for our customers,'' Hay said.

Er:

The utility [Xcel] also plans to "up-rate" both plants so they can produce more power. If successful, nuclear would continue to generate about 25 percent of Minnesota's electricity for the next two decades.

Um:

And the waste – well that’s the best part!  It’s a valuable resource we will one day exhume from its storage sites to reprocess for even more energy and useful isotopes.  The fact that all the energy to power a city for years results in nothing but a few drums of solid waste shows how incredibly clean it is.  A coal plant produces tons of waste every day – and sends it right into the air.  That’s how non-nuclear plants store their waste – in our lungs.

We hang our heads in shame. Nothing to offer the earth – blue skies – crystal waters – frolicsome woodland creatures. Nothing to offer. We stand alone – shoulders drooped, hands in pockets, tears leaking from burgundy eyes.

No – nothing - nothing to offer. As if!

Poor us. If you blow on us a little too hard, all our petals fall off. Be sure to visit www.nei.org for a little roundup of what those dead enders think the nuclear industry has to offer on Earth Day.