US committed to nuclear, Chu tells Vogtle workers

[wtmusic]

"The Obama Administration is 'committed to doing our part to help jumpstart America's nuclear industry,' US energy secretary Steven Chu said during a visit to the Vogtle site in Georgia, where construction of two new reactors is due to start soon. He highlighted the steps that the Administration is taking to restart the country's nuclear industry.

Speaking to more than 500 workers at the site, Chu said: 'In his State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a blueprint for an American economy that is built to last and develops every available source of American energy. Nuclear power is an important part of that blueprint.' He added, 'Nuclear power is a vital part of our energy mix and we must do everything we can to develop it in a safe and secure manner.' However, the Fukushima accident 'reminds us that nuclear safety and security require continued vigilance, and we are committed to harnessing nuclear energy - and all our energy resources - in a safe and responsible manner.'

He highlighted measures taken by the government so far to help stimulate the country's nuclear power industry, including providing an $8 billion loan guarantee to support the construction of two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Vogtle. Chu also noted that the Department of Energy (DoE) had requested a budget of $770 million for fiscal year 2012 for its nuclear energy program."

http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-US_committed_to_nuclear_Chu_tells_Vogtle_workers-1602124.html

[FiveGoodMen]

1. Bringing Fukushima to a theater near you!

[kristopher]

2. More accuare headline, "Administration giving nuclear industry enough rope to hang itself"

The quote in the OP headline appears nowhere in the article and the substitute offered is at least as accurate an interpretation of what was said by Chu.

Japan Ignored Nuclear Risks, Official Says
By HIROKO TABUCHI

TOKYO — In surprisingly frank public testimony on Wednesday, Japan’s nuclear safety chief said the country’s regulations were fundamentally flawed and laid out a somber picture of a nuclear industry shaped by freewheeling power companies, toothless regulators and a government more interested in promoting nuclear energy than in safeguarding the health of its citizens...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/world/asia/japanese-official-says-nations-atomic-rules-are-flawed.html?_r=1


"...a government more interested in promoting nuclear energy than in safeguarding the health of its citizens."

[FBaggins]

3. Still inventing your own reality, eh?

"Nuclear power is a vital part of our energy mix and we must do everything we can to develop it..." and "committed to doing our part to help jumpstart America's nuclear industry"... sure sounds a whole lot closer to "committed to nuclear" (which they've been saying all along) than "giving enough rope to hang yourself with".

But your path here is clear. As more and more reactors are approved over the coming decade, you will refuse to see that as a loss for anti-nuclear paranoia... and instead spin it as the first step toward eventual victory.

How convenient. But I look forward to many more such attempts at spin.

[txlibdem]

4. Truth will win over fear mongering

It may, however, take some time before the most zealous in the Anti-Nuclear Cult are convinced.

[FBaggins]

5. They'll never be convinced.

If they weren't immune to the facts, they would have corrected the error decades ago.

But they can be overcome... and for all their rantings in recent months, that's clearly happening.

On edit - With the caveat that demand growth is too anemic to expect short-term gains the scale of what some of the rest of the world is implementing.