News & Events
Environmentalists (Extended)
"Congress needs to ensure that the majority of new demand is met by sources other than natural gas. New nuclear generation, which has almost no carbon contribution and a tiny footprint on habitat, must be significantly increased. Because nuclear energy provides reliable baseload electricity supply, it directly reduces the need for natural gas-derived electricity and thereby may reduce the impact of extraction on habitat in the Rocky Mountain west."
—The Boone and Crockett Club
in the position paper Climate Change Policy
August 2009
“We have a choice to make: We can either continue the 30-year emotional debate about whether we should embrace nuclear energy, or we can accept its practical advantages. Love it or not, expanding nuclear energy makes both environmental and business sense.”
—Christine Todd Whitman
Former Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Co-chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition
BusinessWeek op-ed
Sept. 17, 2007
“A more diverse mix of voices are taking a positive second look at nuclear energy—environmentalists, scientists, the media, prominent Republicans and Democrats and progressive think tanks. They are all coming to a similar conclusion: If we are to meet the growing electricity needs in this country and also address global climate change, nuclear energy has a crucial role to play.”
—Patrick Moore
Co-founder, Greenpeace
Co-chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition
Kiplinger’s Business Resource Center
September 2007
“Nuclear is without question a great solution to powering Florida without creating greenhouse gas emissions.”
—Michael Sole
Secretary, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
As quoted by the Tallahassee Democrat
July 17, 2007
“I think it’s somewhat disingenuous that folks who agree that global warming is such a serious issue could sort of dismiss [nuclear energy] out of hand. It’s got to be at least considered.”
—Bill Chameides
Chief scientist
Environmental Defense
As quoted by the Associated Press
July 2, 2007
“There’s no question that [nuclear energy] is a clean way to generate huge amounts of electricity. There are no emissions, no pollution, and I think it is a very positive development.”
—Max Schulz
Senior fellow, Manhattan Institute
CNBC’s “Power Lunch”
April 11, 2007
“You can't just write nuclear off. I think everybody feels you have to at least look again.”
—Judy Greenwald
Director, Innovative Solutions
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
USA Today
March 23, 2007
“Global warming is the environmental issue of our generation. Clearly, to solve this problem we need to have all technologies on the table. Therefore, nuclear energy ... needs to be considered.”
—Bill Chameides
Chief scientist
Environmental Defense
USA Today
March 22, 2007
“There were legitimate reasons to worry about nuclear power, but now that we know about the threat of climate change, we have to put the risks in perspective. Sure, nuclear waste is a problem, but the great thing about it is you know where it is and you can guard it.”
—Stewart Brand
Noted environmentalist and founder, publisher, and editor of The
Whole Earth Catalog
As quoted in The New York Times
Feb. 27, 2007
“The important and overriding consideration is time; we have nuclear power now, and new nuclear building should be started immediately. All of the alternatives, including fusion energy, require decades of development before they can be employed on a scale that would significantly reduce emissions. In the next few years, renewables will add an increment of emission-free energy, mainly from wind, but it is quite small when compared with the nuclear potential.”
—James Lovelock
Author
“The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of
Humanity”
July 2006
“Nuclear power’s ability to contribute significantly to a low-carbon future over the next 50 years depends on the ability of the nuclear industry to start expanding nuclear generating capacity in the next 10 to 15 years, as well as the resolution of cost, safety and waste storage issues.”
—Agenda for Climate Change
Pew Center on Climate Change
February 2006
“Now we come to the most profound environmental problem of all … global climate change. Its effect on natural systems and on civilization will be a universal permanent disaster. … So everything must be done to increase energy efficiency and decarbonize energy production. Kyoto accords, radical conservation in energy transmission and use, wind energy, solar energy, passive solar, hydroelectric energy, biomass, the whole gamut. But add them all up and it’s still only a fraction of enough. … The only technology ready to fill the gap and stop the carbon dioxide loading of the atmosphere is nuclear power. … It also has advantages besides the overwhelming one of being atmospherically clean. The industry is mature, with a half-century of experience and ever improved engineering behind it. … Nuclear power plants are very high yield, with low-cost fuel. Finally, they offer the best avenue to a ‘hydrogen economy,’ combining high energy and high heat in one place for optimal hydrogen generation.”
—Stewart Brand
Noted environmentalist and founder, publisher, and editor of The
Whole Earth Catalog
“Environmental Heresies”
Technology Review (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
May 2005
“I have been a committed environmentalist for many years. It is because of this commitment and the graveness of the consequences of global warming for the planet that I have now come to the conclusion that the solution is to make more use of nuclear energy.”
—Rev. Hugh Montefiore
Former Bishop of Birmingham (U.K.) and former chairman and
trustee for Friends of the Earth
“Why the Planet Needs Nuclear Energy”
The Tablet (U.K.)
Oct. 23, 2004
—The Boone and Crockett Club
in the position paper Climate Change Policy
August 2009
“We have a choice to make: We can either continue the 30-year emotional debate about whether we should embrace nuclear energy, or we can accept its practical advantages. Love it or not, expanding nuclear energy makes both environmental and business sense.”
—Christine Todd Whitman
Former Environmental Protection Agency administrator
Co-chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition
BusinessWeek op-ed
Sept. 17, 2007
“A more diverse mix of voices are taking a positive second look at nuclear energy—environmentalists, scientists, the media, prominent Republicans and Democrats and progressive think tanks. They are all coming to a similar conclusion: If we are to meet the growing electricity needs in this country and also address global climate change, nuclear energy has a crucial role to play.”
—Patrick Moore
Co-founder, Greenpeace
Co-chair, Clean and Safe Energy Coalition
Kiplinger’s Business Resource Center
September 2007
“Nuclear is without question a great solution to powering Florida without creating greenhouse gas emissions.”
—Michael Sole
Secretary, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
As quoted by the Tallahassee Democrat
July 17, 2007
“I think it’s somewhat disingenuous that folks who agree that global warming is such a serious issue could sort of dismiss [nuclear energy] out of hand. It’s got to be at least considered.”
—Bill Chameides
Chief scientist
Environmental Defense
As quoted by the Associated Press
July 2, 2007
“There’s no question that [nuclear energy] is a clean way to generate huge amounts of electricity. There are no emissions, no pollution, and I think it is a very positive development.”
—Max Schulz
Senior fellow, Manhattan Institute
CNBC’s “Power Lunch”
April 11, 2007
“You can't just write nuclear off. I think everybody feels you have to at least look again.”
—Judy Greenwald
Director, Innovative Solutions
Pew Center on Global Climate Change
USA Today
March 23, 2007
“Global warming is the environmental issue of our generation. Clearly, to solve this problem we need to have all technologies on the table. Therefore, nuclear energy ... needs to be considered.”
—Bill Chameides
Chief scientist
Environmental Defense
USA Today
March 22, 2007
“There were legitimate reasons to worry about nuclear power, but now that we know about the threat of climate change, we have to put the risks in perspective. Sure, nuclear waste is a problem, but the great thing about it is you know where it is and you can guard it.”
—Stewart Brand
Noted environmentalist and founder, publisher, and editor of The
Whole Earth Catalog
As quoted in The New York Times
Feb. 27, 2007
“The important and overriding consideration is time; we have nuclear power now, and new nuclear building should be started immediately. All of the alternatives, including fusion energy, require decades of development before they can be employed on a scale that would significantly reduce emissions. In the next few years, renewables will add an increment of emission-free energy, mainly from wind, but it is quite small when compared with the nuclear potential.”
—James Lovelock
Author
“The Revenge of Gaia: Earth's Climate Crisis and the Fate of
Humanity”
July 2006
“Nuclear power’s ability to contribute significantly to a low-carbon future over the next 50 years depends on the ability of the nuclear industry to start expanding nuclear generating capacity in the next 10 to 15 years, as well as the resolution of cost, safety and waste storage issues.”
—Agenda for Climate Change
Pew Center on Climate Change
February 2006
“Now we come to the most profound environmental problem of all … global climate change. Its effect on natural systems and on civilization will be a universal permanent disaster. … So everything must be done to increase energy efficiency and decarbonize energy production. Kyoto accords, radical conservation in energy transmission and use, wind energy, solar energy, passive solar, hydroelectric energy, biomass, the whole gamut. But add them all up and it’s still only a fraction of enough. … The only technology ready to fill the gap and stop the carbon dioxide loading of the atmosphere is nuclear power. … It also has advantages besides the overwhelming one of being atmospherically clean. The industry is mature, with a half-century of experience and ever improved engineering behind it. … Nuclear power plants are very high yield, with low-cost fuel. Finally, they offer the best avenue to a ‘hydrogen economy,’ combining high energy and high heat in one place for optimal hydrogen generation.”
—Stewart Brand
Noted environmentalist and founder, publisher, and editor of The
Whole Earth Catalog
“Environmental Heresies”
Technology Review (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
May 2005
“I have been a committed environmentalist for many years. It is because of this commitment and the graveness of the consequences of global warming for the planet that I have now come to the conclusion that the solution is to make more use of nuclear energy.”
—Rev. Hugh Montefiore
Former Bishop of Birmingham (U.K.) and former chairman and
trustee for Friends of the Earth
“Why the Planet Needs Nuclear Energy”
The Tablet (U.K.)
Oct. 23, 2004
Viewpoints on Nuclear Energy
What Others Are Saying
Key Issue: Protecting the Environment
Nuclear energy is America's largest source of clean-air, carbon-free electricity, producing no greenhouse gases or air pollutants. The industry's commitment to the environment extends to protecting wildlife and their habitats.
