Lifting moratorium on building nuclear plants is an idea that should be buried and stored for 10,000 yearsWisconsin Green Party May 10, 2007 Ruth Weill Co-Chair, Wisconsin Green Party,
spokesperson@wisconsingreenparty.org 414-350-2107 WISCONSIN -- Today the Wisconsin Green Party stated its opposition to lifting the state moratorium on building additional nuclear power plants in Wisconsin. "We disagree with the Special Legislative Committee on Nuclear Power's decision to recommend to the Wisconsin legislature that the moratorium be lifted," said Ron Hardy, Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "All of our energy needs must be evaluated within a sustainable framework. Nuclear energy is neither economically nor environmentally sustainable. Our current Wisconsin moratorium has basic reasonable criteria with which to evaluate whether to build more nuclear power plants - that the nuclear plant must be a better deal for the ratepayer when all alternatives are considered, and that a federal facility is available to accept all nuclear waste generated. Clearly no proposed nuclear power plant could currently meet those criteria." "It seems the Committee has asked the question - 'How can we get rid of consumer and environmental protections so that we can produce more energy to support our unsustainable way of life?'" said Ruth Weill, Co-chair of the Wisconsin Green Party. "The question we should be asking is, 'How can we live in a way that enables all in Wisconsin to meet basic needs without compromising the well-being of those generations that come after us?' Nuclear power may be the answer to the first question, but it isn't the answer to the second." The United States has the largest ecological footprint of any nation, meaning that residents consume the largest amount of the earth's resources. Worldwide, there are 4.5 productive acres per person. The average U.S. citizen uses 24 acres. If everyone lived at United States levels of consumption, 5.3 earths would be needed. "Greens advocate for a seventh generation mindset," said Hardy. "The reason we are in a crisis situation today is because we and those before us have not considered the consequences of our actions. Nuclear waste will need to be stored far longer than seven generations - in fact, it will need to be stored for longer than the duration of any civilization so far. We believe in true cost pricing. The cost of 10,000 years of storage needs to be figured into the price tag for nuclear power." The National Academy of Sciences has called for a nuclear storage system that would protect against radiation releases beyond the next 10,000 years. More than 1,100 metric tons of used fuel is in temporary storage in Wisconsin in water-filled vaults. Nuclear Management Company also operates a dry cask storage facility at the Point Beach site. The Yucca Mountain federal nuclear waste storage facility is slated to open to receive waste in 2017. However, Harry Reid, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed his commitment to preventing that from happening. The citizens of Nevada are opposed to opening a national nuclear waste storage facility in their state. Wisconsin is one of the states near the top of the list of perspective national sites for radioactive waste. Greens support conservation as the most important step in addressing energy needs, followed by developing renewable energies. According to the Wisconsin Clean Energy Plan, greater energy efficiency, conservation, and clean energy generation would greatly reduce the need for new nuclear power plants, or polluting coal-fired power plants. In studies conducted by the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, renewable energy, cleaner fuels, and greater energy efficiency could save Wisconsin consumers $490 million, create 8,500 new jobs, and reduce air pollution by 70 billion pounds. Nuclear power currently provides approximately 20% of Wisconsin's power. For more information about the Wisconsin Green Party visit:
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