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USA Climate bill: Nuclear industry has bought Democrats

Coal, nuclear, big oil defy the odds, Politico, 22 April 2010,  By LISA LERER “….coal companies, the nuclear industry and Big Oil — have not only elbowed their way into seats at the table; they are poised to reap windfalls from climate proposals working their way through the Senate. ..

…The nuclear industry courted new environmentalist allies by hyping its status as one of the cleanest sources of fuel and supplemented its policy arguments with increased donations to Democrats……Their work is now paying off, as drafters of the Senate climate bill have bent over backward to court all three industries…..The bill increases financial incentives for nuclear power and provides tens of billions to develop new, cleaner coal technologies. Those proposals came about after a series of meetings last month with the Alliance for Energy and Economic Growth, a business coalition that has been one of the fiercest opponents of past climate bills………

Nuclear power has also changed its lobbying efforts, switching the recipients of its industry campaign donations from largely Republican candidates to moderate Democrats. The Nuclear Energy Institute, for example, gave nearly double the amount of campaign cash to Senate Republicans in the 2008 cycle.

This year, they’ve given a third more to House Democrats and roughly equal amounts to Senate Democrats. In 2008, the political action committee of the Nuclear Energy Institute gave $39,151 to Democrats and $70,109 to Republicans in the Senate. This cycle, they’ve given $21,500 to Republicans and $20,520 to Democrats…………..

The industry also elevated former green activists to the boards of industry coalitions. Patrick Moore, an early leader of Greenpeace, now co-chairs the pro-nuclear Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. Coal, nuclear, big oil defy the odds – Lisa Ler – Flash Player Installation

April 23, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, nuclear, nuclear spin, renewable energy