Markey's "Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011" would require nuclear loan guarantees to consider Fukushima catastrophe risks

U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA)On March 29, 2011 -- just 18 days after the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe began -- U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced the "Nuclear Power Plant Safety Act of 2011." Its Section 3 on Loan Guarantees would amend Section 1702(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16512(b)) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: "In the case of a guarantee for advanced nuclear energy facilities, the Secretary [of Energy] shall ensure that the cost of the obligation is calculated using a consideration of the Tohoku earthquake of 2011 to estimate the risk characteristics of the project."

Nuclear industry suffers major defeat in Iowa

Green State Solutions' logoFriends of the Earth has just reported a major victory against new reactors: "Despite intense industry lobbying and contributions, Iowa Senate adjourns without passing ill-advised ‘cost recovery’ bill"! Congratulations to all the groups who fought so hard to win this important victory! Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear met one of them, Mike Carberry, director of Green State Solutions, who visited the Beyond Nuclear information table and attended Kevin's "Nuclear Power Is Not the Answer!" workshop at the Midwest Renewable Energy Fair in Wisconsin this past Summer Solstice. Mike ordered a whole box of Beyond Nuclear's beautiful wind power and solar power postcards, in order to be non-violently "armed" if and when this battle has to be re-fought next session in the Iowa state legislature. You too can order our postcards. Use them to urge your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to write their elected officials, to demand a renewables renaissance, and an abolition of dirty, dangerous, and expensive nuclear power.

Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Graham Nash call for citizen action against new nuclear loan guarantees

Nash, Raitt, and Browne, flanked by environmental and congressional allies, at a Nukefree.org press conference against nuclear loan guarantees on Capitol Hill, 2007"We may be on the brink...of stopping the US nuclear industry from building new reactors," write musicians Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and Graham Nash in a new posting on the Nukefree.org website. Join their call by phoning your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Representative via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and urging them to block the $36 billion in new nuclear loan guarantees proposed by the Obama administration in the Fiscal Year 2012 federal budget, with the first congressional subcommittee votes expected to happen in the next few weeks

Moodys downgrades Tepco; shareholders could be wiped out

From Bloomberg: Moody’s Japan K.K. cut its rating on Tokyo Electric and warned it may reduce it further, saying the problems at Fukushima “appear far from being resolved” and the company is likely to remain unprofitable for a long time. Senior secured and long-term issuer ratings were downgraded to Baa1 from A1, Moody’s said in a statement.

"Tokyo Electric’s shareholders may be wiped out by clean-up costs and liabilities stemming from the nuclear accident, the worst since Chernobyl. The company, known as Tepco, faces claims of as much as 11 trillion yen if the crisis lasts two years and potential takeover by the government, according to a March 29 Bank of America Merrill Lynch report."





Help Block Latest Nuke Industry Raid on the U.S. Treasury!

Despite the fact that its proposed new reactor projects are beset by ongoing major safety risks, schedule delays, cost overruns, and other economic and radiological pitfalls, the nuclear power industry continues to seek massive taxpayer bailouts, not only in the U.S. but even overseas. The environmental movement has responded by urging the Japanese government not to risk its own taxpayers’ funds on the risky South Texas Project twin reactor expansion. A coalition of more than 170 organizations, including Beyond Nuclear, recently sent a letter to the Japanese prime minister, and issued an accompanying media release. (Last August, Beyond Nuclear’s Kevin Kamps, along with Japanese allies from Green Action, Citizens Nuclear Information Center, Friends of the Earth, and other groups met with the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the federal Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) to deliver just such a message.) The nuclear industry's attempted money grab in the U.S. has now shifted -- yet again -- to the U.S. Senate, which is considering funding measures for the current and next fiscal year. Right now is a critical time to stave off this latest attempt to risk additional billions of taxpayer dollars on proposed new atomic boondoggles. Call your two U.S. Senators via the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or look up their fax numbers and websites for writing in via their webforms, or to find their in-state offices nearest you. Urge them to not only reject additional nuclear power loan guarantees, but also to roll back the entire nuclear loan guarantee program, as 57% of Americans polled by the Wall Street Journal/NBC have indicated ("When it comes to reducing spending, the most popular targets were subsidies to build nuclear power plants...")! After more than half a century of heavy subsidization by American taxpayers and ratepayers, it's high time for the nuclear power industry to stand on its own two feet in the marketplace, or go away for good!