We have gone from nuclear technology sold in the 70s on the basis of being “too cheap to meter” to one where they have been begging and receiving for what amounts to yet more subsidies. Even with the “too cheap to meter” claim, in its heyday the nuclear industry was the recipient of huge amounts of subsidy in numerous forms. One U.S. Department of Energy study on energy subsidies from 1978 recounts: “One of the hallmarks of commercial nuclear power is the high degree of federal participation in its development and regulation… This support has been manifested in a number of ways: subsidies, use of facilities…sponsorship of R&D directly applicable to commercial nuclear power, transfer of technology from weapons, space and military applications, and legislation.”
CTMirror 25th March 2019 read more »
On the US-Mexico border, residents say a vast geothermal project threatens the water – and claim the state has ignored local concerns to help big energy.
Guardian 26th March 2019 read more »
The US Senate defeated a motion to take up the Green New Deal, the non-binding proposal spearheaded by progressive Democratic lawmakers to radically reduce greenhouse gases and try to lessen social inequity. Republican leaders in the Senate had scheduled Tuesday’s vote in an effort to turn the proposal into a wedge issue in the 2020 elections, hoping to force Democrats on the record about their support – or opposition – for a proposal that is popular among the Democratic base but has been criticized by many conservatives. Democrats called the efforts by the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell a “sham”, and 43 of them voted “present” rather than casting an up-or-down vote.
Guardian 27th March 2019 read more »
