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<title>Fwd: Stop nuke subsidies: Help us get this press
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<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">Subject: </th>
<td>Fwd: Stop nuke subsidies: Help us get this press release
to every member of Congress</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
<td>Mon, 20 Sep 2010 12:54:00 -0400</td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>Lorna Salzman <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:lsalzman1@verizon.net"><lsalzman1@verizon.net></a></td>
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<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:lsalzman1@verizon.net">lsalzman1@verizon.net</a></td>
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<title>Fwd: Stop nuke subsidies: Help us get this press
release t</title>
<div>This is really easy to do & needs widespread support.
Please
contact your congressperson by clicking on the link<br>
</div>
<div>Begin forwarded message:</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><font size="+1" color="#000000"
face="Helvetica"><b>From:</b></font><font size="+1"
face="Helvetica">
Nuclear Information and Resource Service <</font><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org"><font
size="+1" face="Helvetica">nirsnet@nirs.org</font></a><font
size="+1" face="Helvetica">></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><font size="+1" color="#000000"
face="Helvetica"><b>Date:</b></font><font size="+1"
face="Helvetica">
September 17, 2010 2:01:41 PM EDT</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><font size="+1" color="#000000"
face="Helvetica"><b>To:</b></font> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:chair@ecologyparty.org"><font size="+1"
face="Helvetica">chair@ecologyparty.org</font></a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><font size="+1" color="#000000"
face="Helvetica"><b>Subject:</b></font><font size="+1"
face="Helvetica"><b> Stop nuke subsidies: Help us get this press
release to
every member of Congress</b></font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><font size="+1" color="#000000"
face="Helvetica"><b>Reply-To:</b></font> <a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org"><font
size="+1" face="Helvetica">nirsnet@nirs.org</font></a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/images/titlebar2%281%29.gif"
height="55" width="558"></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5502/images/generaltop.jpg"
alt="org2.democracyina/54512849.jpg" height="102" width="558"></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="">6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma
Park,
MD 20912; 301-270-6477; <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org">nirsnet@nirs.org</a>; <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=RqOfTXFLccEcz6Vt9pprFtIcYFDo6ES6"><span></span>www.nirs.org</a><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><b>ACT NOW: HELP US GET THIS PRESS
RELEASE TO EVERY MEMBER OF CONGRESS!<br>
<br>
LET'S STOP ALL TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES TO THE NUCLEAR POWER
INDUSTRY!</b><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
<br>
September 17, 2010<br>
<br>
Dear Friends,<br>
<br>
Yesterday, in Washington, DC, the Massachusetts of Technology
released
an "expert" study titled "The Future of the Nuclear
Fuel Cycle."<br>
<br>
On the plus side, the study concluded that there is no need to set
up
an expensive and dirty reprocessing infrastructure right now. We
could
have told them that and saved them a lot of money...<br>
<br>
<b>But the study also recommended that the government accelerate
and
increase the amount of taxpayer subsidies going to new nuclear
reactor
construction. The study says taxpayers should quickly fund 7-10
new
reactors--at today's prices, that could be anywhere from $50-100
billion!</b><br>
<br>
But MIT didn't recognize that because, despite being an "expert"
study, they used a cost estimate for new reactor construction that
hasn't been valid for years.<br>
<br>
So yesterday, we issued a press release, which we've pasted in
below,
that points out that MIT's cost estimate is simply not credible,
how
it is wrong, and why (and it might not surprise you to learn that
MIT's study was funded by the nuclear industry).<br>
<br>
Despite this blatant flaw in the study, the nuclear industry and
Department of Energy will be using it to make a case in Congress
for
more government loans to wealthy nuclear companies. This could
still
come up this month, in the form of a Continuing Resolution, or in
a
lame-duck session after the election, in the form of an omnibus
appropriations bill or some other legislation.<br>
<br>
Since 2008, with your help, we have stopped them from spending
more
money on new reactors.<b> Can you step up again now, and help us
get
this press release to every member of Congress?</b> <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bIVPgivmoqLGQhA7JurCsYHaUC0LKSUW"><b><span></span>You
can do so here.</b></a><br>
<br>
It's important that every member of Congress know the facts about
nuclear subsidies--and this MIT study is not based on facts. But
we
can't count on the media to help us get out the facts--indeed,
while
this release went directly to more than 500 energy and
environmental
reporters, we haven't received a single media call on this press
release!<br>
<br>
We don't have a fax program that lets us reach all 535 members of
Congress, and most members of Congress use systems that prevent
people
with zip codes outside of their states or district from sending
them
e-mail messages, so we can't reach them directly that way either.<br>
<br>
<b>But you can! And you--the people on this list--are in every
state
and every Congressional District in the country! So please,</b>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=MuU9VijaO11IllOz2FJsj4HaUC0LKSUW"><b><span></span>go
here to send this press release</b></a><b> and a brief note
expressing your opposition to nuclear bailouts to your Senators
and
Representative.</b><br>
<br>
We also urge you to tell your local media about this release. It's
online here, and if you want a formatted pdf copy, just send a
quick
note to us at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org">nirsnet@nirs.org</a>.<br>
<br>
Thank you for your help, and a<u> special thank you</u> to
everyone
who contributed online or mailed us a check in our recent
paperless
fundraising drive! It's been an experiment and while it's worked
fairly well, we still haven't received as many responses, or as
much
money, as our usual snail mail appeals. So we're continuing it
this
month. If you weren't able to contribute last month, or just
didn't
get around to it, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=W3rhrXPPq8Sp84PWzubWgtIcYFDo6ES6"><span></span>please
make whatever donation you can here</a>. Or, you can
send a check to us at NIRS, 6930 Carroll Avenue, #340, Takoma
Park, MD
20912. Or you can simply call us at 301-270-6477 and make a credit
card donation over the phone if you'd prefer. Whichever way you
donate, thank you!</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
And thanks for all you do,<br>
<br>
Michael Mariotte<br>
Executive Director<br>
Nuclear Information and Resource Service<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org">nirsnet@nirs.org</a><br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=l8gi%2BSCfOJ4RklOfam%2BKcdIcYFDo6ES6"><span></span>www.nirs.org</a><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
<br>
<b>INDUSTRY-FUNDED MIT STUDY ON NUCLEAR FUTURE SUFFERS FROM
UNSUPPORTABLE REACTOR CONSTRUCTION COST ESTIMATE<br>
<br>
RECOMMENDATION FOR MORE HIGH-RISK TAXPAYER SUBSIDIES TO NUCLEAR
INDUSTRY DOESN'T HOLD UP UNDER SCRUTINY</b><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
<br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Mariotte<br>
September 16,
2010 <span></span> <span></span>
301-270-6477<br>
<br>
<br>
An MIT study titled "The Future of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle"
released today in Washington uses an unsupportable reactor
construction cost estimate, undercutting its recommendation that
taxpayer subsidies for new nuclear reactors should be increased
and
accelerated.<br>
<br>
"Congress would be ill-advised to follow the MIT recommendation,"
said Michael Mariotte, executive director of Nuclear Information
and
Resource Service (NIRS), "since the study relies on a
construction cost estimate for new reactors that is 50% or more
below
current cost estimates. Reliance on such an estimate would turn a
high-risk taxpayer loan into an exorbitant-risk taxpayer bailout
for
wealthy nuclear power companies. Congress needs real numbers when
it
considers spending taxpayer money, not nuclear industry
fantasies."<br>
<br>
The MIT recommendation, which calls for an acceleration and
expansion
of taxpayer subsidies for the first 7-10 new reactors, is based on
an
estimated construction cost of $4,000/kilowatt, or about $4
billion
for a 1,000 Megawatt reactor.<br>
<br>
"This is a remarkable flaw from what is touted as an expert
study," said Mariotte. "Even a cursory review of the
literature finds that no new U.S. nuclear reactor proposal is
coming
in at $4,000/kw," said Mariotte. "The real-world estimates
are ranging from $6,000-9,000/kw--or 50% to more than 100% higher
than
MIT's study asserts. Based on those kinds of estimates, it would
make
no sense for taxpayers to support the nuclear industry at all. New
reactors won't be economic, and the taxpayer loans would be far
too
risky."<br>
<br>
Mariotte cited several examples to refute MIT's cost figures:<br>
<br>
*Calvert Cliffs-3 is estimated to cost "about $10 billion"
according to testimony from Constellation Energy CEO Mayo Shattuck
before the Maryland Public Service Commission in March 2009.
That's
more than $6,000/kw for that 1600 MW reactor.<br>
<br>
*PPL estimates, on its website, that a reactor identical to
Calvert
Cliffs-3, would cost $13-15 billion, or about $8,000-9,000/kw
(including financing costs). <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.bellbend.com/faqs.htm">http://www.bellbend.com/faqs.htm</a><br>
<br>
*A September 2008 estimate filed with the Florida Public Service
Commission put the proposed Turkey Point reactors at $8,200/kw.<br>
<br>
*The Southern Company's Vogtle reactors in Georgia-slated to be
the
first recipients of taxpayer loans to support their
construction-are
currently estimated at about $6,200/kw.<br>
<br>
Wall Street appears not to accept the MIT figures either:<br>
<br>
*An October 2007 report from Moody's Investor Service predicted
costs
of $5-6,000/kw. Less than a year later, in May 2008, Moody's
predicted
costs "Špotentially reaching over $7,000/kw."<br>
<br>
*Standard & Poor's, quoting the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission in October 2008, predicted costs ranging from
$5-8,000/kw.<br>
<br>
"The MIT study correctly notes that 'nuclear electricity costs
are driven by high up-front capital costs,' whereas natural gas
and
coal costs are more dependent on fuel costs," said Mariotte,
"thus, it vastly underestimates nuclear capital costs and
presents a grossly misleading picture of the costs of electricity
to
the consumer if nuclear reactors are built, as well as
understating
the risk of nuclear loans to the taxpayer."<br>
<br>
Mariotte noted that the study only compared nuclear costs to
natural
gas and coal, and not to alternatives like wind power, solar
power,
geothermal and energy efficiency technologies. Some of these
alternatives, like wind and energy efficiency, are already much
cheaper than nuclear power and solar is rapidly declining in price
while increasing in its efficiency. Earlier this week, the
Department
of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a report
detailing the potential of offshore wind resources for the U.S.,
finding that offshore wind alone could generate more than four
times
the entire current electrical demand in the U.S. <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/45889.pdf">http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy10osti/45889.pdf</a></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
Mariotte pointed out that the MIT study acknowledges "generous
financial support from the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI)
and from Idaho National Laboratory, the Nuclear Energy Institute,
Areva, GEHitachi, Westinghouse, Energy Solutions, and Nuclear
Assurance Corporation."<br>
<br>
"Areva, GEHitachi and Westinghouse are the three reactor vendors
hoping for taxpayer money to pay for their products," said
Mariotte. "It is at least suspicious that the study would support
their aims using a cost estimate that simply does not stand up to
scrutiny."<br>
<br>
--30--<br>
<br>
Please note: NIRS never sells, rents, trades, or otherwise makes
our
e-mail lists available to other organizations or individuals for
any
reason. If you would like to unsubscribe to NIRS list, <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=VhGVmoIGMstREKMOqSzittIcYFDo6ES6"><span></span>please
go here</a>.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="">Note: If you have any problem using
our
Democracy in Action system to send your letter to Congress, please
let
us know at <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:nirsnet@nirs.org">nirsnet@nirs.org</a>. The
good people at DIA are constantly working to upgrade and improve
the
system, but glitches sometimes occur. When they do, we want to
know
about them and we'll work with DIA to fix them.<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite=""><img moz-do-not-send="true"
src="http://org2.democracyinaction.org/dia/TrackImage?key=254178243"
height="1" width="1"></blockquote>
<div><br>
</div>
<x-sigsep>
<pre>--
</pre>
</x-sigsep>
<div><font color="#000000">Lorna Salzman<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.lornasalzman.com">www.lornasalzman.com</a></font><br>
</div>
<div><font color="#000000">The struggle of Israel, even if they
don't
want to accept it, is the struggle of the world (Pilar Rahola,
leftist
Spanish politician and journalist)</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Muslims to the world: Don't say we're
violent or we'll kill you.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">You can't defame a religion but you can
kill in its name and go scot free.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">ISLAM: Be afraid. Be very
afraid.</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">"Modern science-based civilization is
but a thin veneer over fundamental medieval notions divorced
from
empirical evidence" - Andrew Glikson<br>
<br>
<br>
"We are already fighting World War III and I am sorry to say we
are winning. It is the war against the earth".....Raymond
Dasmann<br>
<br>
<br>
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do
it from religious conviction" (B. Pascal).<br>
<br>
"If we don't change direction we'll end up where we're
headed"</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000" face="Verdana"> Is it safer to ask for
open mindedness among the victims of Islamofacism rather than
its
perpetrators?</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
</font></div>
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