nuclear-news

To really promote clean energy, put a tax on carbon

UCS is urging Congress to take devise a more holistic clean energy policy by placing a tax on carbon.

Scientists: Nuclear power isn’t viable without corporate welfare, SmartPlanet,  By David Worthington | Feb 23, 2011“……..Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)  is cautioning that taxpayers will be footing the bill if the nuclear industry ever defaults on its loans. The total amount of loan guarantees paid by the federal government will be $58.5 billion if Congress consents to the President’s proposal.

Carbon is the key Instead, UCS is urging Congress to take devise a more holistic clean energy policy by placing a tax on carbon.

“All low-carbon energy technologies would be able to compete on their merits if the government established an energy-neutral playing field and put a price on carbon,” said Ellen Vancko, manager of UCS’s Nuclear Energy and Climate Change Project.

“Investing in nuclear power carries the unique risks of radioactive waste storage, accidents, and nuclear weapons proliferation that must be fully reflected in the technology’s costs, which is not the case today,” Vancko added.

In 2009, UCS derided proposed nuclear loan guarantees as a potential “Taxpayer bailout ahead.”

UCS was founded in in 1969 by a group of scientists and students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to promote the use of science for public interest. It is strongly opposed to any political interference in scientific research.

Dr. James McCarthy, a biological oceanography professor at Harvard University, is current chairperson of UCS. The group has supported a moratorium on new coal power plants, and advocates for the development of new technologies to combat climate change.

Scientists: Nuclear power isn’t viable without corporate welfare – SmartPlan

February 25, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA