If you were watching last night's State of the Union address, I'm sure you were as appalled as I was when President Obama suddenly spoke in support of "safe, clean nuclear power" (not to mention support for offshore oil drilling and "clean" coal).

Politically, Obama likely was simply parroting the effort being led by Sens. John Kerry, Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham to gain support for a climate bill by adding massive subsidies for nuclear power, offshore oil and "clean" coal. But recycling George W. Bush energy talking points is no way to solve the climate crisis or develop a sustainable energy policy. Please tell President Obama that he's wrong: nuclear power is neither safe nor clean.

Indeed, Obama knows better. Candidate Obama understood that nuclear power is neither safe nor clean. Watch this video taken early in his presidential campaign, in which he expresses concern for his daughters growing up in Chicago and surrounded by nuclear reactors. He says he is not a nuclear proponent and speaks out directly against taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power.

Here, by the way, is the relevant text of Obama's comments last night: "But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."

We can't let this statement go unchallenged. Write President Obama here.

But, we need to do more than just send letters to Obama. We need to call him out on the issue and make it public. So, we've make it easy for you to send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Use our sample letter, or better yet, use your own words. But please do send a letter. You can do so here.

Most state and federal legislators read the Letters pages in their local newspapers every day, to get an idea of the concerns and views of their constituents. Beginning a debate in the letters page is a great way to bring an issue to public attention. It's not possible to make an inherently dangerous technology "safe," and President Obama should know better.

With radioactive tritium leaks at reactor sites across the country, radioactive waste stored in dry casks with nowhere to go, the ever-present risk of meltdown or terror attack, and sadly deficient new reactor designs, nuclear power remains dirty and dangerous, just as it always has been.

We'll be back with more ideas for your actions in the coming weeks (and we always appreciate your ideas for actions too, just e-mail us at write President Obama here, and please send your letter to the editor to your local newspaper here.

Thanks for all you do,

Michael Mariotte
Executive Director

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