A Month Later: Japan’s Nuclear Disaster,

Yesterday marked a month since a 9.0 earthquakes and ensuing tsunamis rocked Japan.  In addition to causing irrevocable damage to the country and its people, Japan also has been contending with what has become a level 7 nuclear disaster. The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale categorizes a level 7 event as one in which there is a major release of radio­active ­material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended ­countermeasures.

As reported in the New York Times the Fukushima Disaster now joins Chernobyl (April 26, 1986) as only one of two level-7 disasters in global history. Japanese officials said that the reactor had released one-tenth as much radioactive material as the Chernobyl accident in 1986, but still qualified as a 7 according to a complex formula devised by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Don’t Get Scared Now”

Yes, words uttered by Kevin McCallister in Home Alone; but also words quite apropos when it comes to U.S. reactions to Japan’s nuclear situation.

Many people in the U.S. are starting to point fingers and start the ‘i told you so’ when it comes to nuclear energy;  but to that we say, “don’t get scared now.”  If anything, we should be using the situation in Japan as a warning and an opportunity to ensure our systems are prepared for natural disasters.

As reported by Politic365.com,  the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the policy organization of the nuclear energy and technologies industry, has added an entire section on its website dedicated to providing an understanding of what is going on in Japan and how it can be prevented in the future.

Controversial GOP Budget Might Mean More Jobs

House Republicans and 13 Democrats passed a measure February 18th eliminating the salaries of President Obama’s international climate change envoy and other top officials, a defiant GOP challenge that will further complicate tough budget negotiations looming with Senate Democrats…

Cap and Trade: there’s more than one way to skin a cat…

Last year Congress said ‘no’ to Cap and Trade.  A decision that saved millions of jobs, a year later we’re facing the same issues thanks to moves by the EPA to regulate the climate…

CES bill to include clean coal and nuclear… maybe.

For those not familiar with “CES”, it stands for ‘clean energy standard’; and by 2035 President Obama wants 80 percent of U.S. electricity to come from “clean energy” sources.  As the president mentioned in his state of the union address the country must open itself up to the possibilities of “clean coal” and nuclear energy in addition to the traditional sources like solar and wind. 

President Obama Invests in Nuclear

Yesterday, President Obama announced more than $8 billion in loan guarantees for two new nuclear reactors as part of the Administration’s commitment to providing clean energy and creating new jobs. Check out his speech below.

Specifically, the $8 billion loan guarantee is for new nuclear reactors to be built at an existing plant in Burke, Ga. It would be the first nuclear power plant to break ground in nearly three decades, according to the White House.

Our Vote is for Rahm!

If we could cast a vote in the Chicago Mayoral race… it would be for Rahm Emanuel.

As the race for mayor in Chicago heats up, the pressure is on when it comes to a “clean power” ordinance. Hopeful Rahm Emanuel is the only candidate that hasn’t said ‘yes’ to a measure aimed at cleaning up or closing two coal-burning plants that researchers have blamed for causing asthma and deaths.

Nuclear Energy Could Help Reduce Unemployment

National unemployment is at 9%.  Some see it’s recent 0.4% drop as signs the economy is turning around. That’s 36,000 new private sector jobs added in January  according to the January 2011 Jobs Report.  However, that’s little comfort for the millions of Americans still out of work or who have given up looking for work.  What it’s going to take to get this country back on track is growth in all industries and we’re going to need more than 36,000 new jobs to get millions of Americans back on their feet. As pointed out by Brian Westenhaus the nuclear energy is poised to be apart of putting people back to work.

Potential Job Boom in Nuclear Energy as Industry is poised for Enormous Grow

One sure thing for future employment is in nuclear.  Now with three decades past the partial meltdown of a reactor at Three Mile Island and further expansion of nuclear power at a standstill, years of stagnant hiring comes to, as the American Physical Society, an independent group of physicists put it, “a greatly reduced interest among undergraduates in nuclear science and engineering programs.  This quote is from a recent report by the Society finding that the number of college nuclear engineering programs has dropped from 66 in the early 1980s to 30 in 2008.

State Of the Union: Expanding Clean Energy to include Nuclear

In last night’s State of the Union Address President Obama focused on the economy.  In his plan for continued economic recovery, Obama cited the further development of clean energy as a source of more jobs.  This article from the New York Times explains how the term ‘clean energy’ is  finally coming to mean and include nuclear energy as well as clean coal technology and President Obama seems to be supportive of these new definitions.  This change to a moderate view point of our environment, most likely fueled by the economic woes our country still faces, symbolizes the protection of many Americans already working in clean coal and nuclear energy technologies as well as growth in those sectors.  Finally!  Climate policy that protects the environment and the livelihood of those living in the environment.

Federal Agencies Are Costing American’s Jobs

Via the Congress Blog, please check out the article below.  It details how federal agencies are issuing regulation upon regulation and grabbing for more and more power.  Their actions are costing Americans jobs!  And none of us can afford that!

Proposed EPA rules could hurt job growth

By Jay Timmons and Gov. Bob McDonnell - 01/24/11

When the new Congress convened in Washington this month, jobs and economic growth were immediately identified as legislative priorities.

In a welcome indication of their seriousness, members of both parties have called for regulatory relief as necessary for creating a strong and sustained economic recovery.