Hot News and Actions
June 22, 2009. 47 organizations, including NIRS, send letter calling for major improvements in House climate change legislation. 
June 19, 2009: 10 groups urge NRC to deny permit for import of Italian radioactive waste to U.S., following court decision.
June 18, 2009: New study finds that it would cost taxpayers and ratepayers $1.9 trillion to $4.1 trillion more over the life of 100 new nuclear reactors than it would to generate the same electricity from a combination of more energy efficiency and renewables.
May 26, 2009: Coalition of Environmental, Sports, Labor and Religious Groups Hold a "Protect Lake Erie Flotilla of Boats" Urging New Yorkers to Support Digging Up Waste at West Valley Nuclear Waste Site. Media Advisory.
May 22, 2009. Comparison of Senate and House “Clean Energy Bank” proposals from Physicians for Social Responsibility.
May 21, 2009: Update: Murkowski, Other Pro-Nuke Amendments Defeated in Senate Committee.
May 20, 2009: Sign the petition. Tell Maryland PSC: No Deal on EDF/Constellation merger. NIRS action alert!
May 18, 2009: Joint intervenors brief to Maryland Public Service Commission asserting PSC has jurisdiction over Electricite de France investment in Constellation Energy, and full examination of this proposed transaction is necessary.
May 4, 2009: Letter to President Obama from hundreds of organizations and 5,000+ individuals, commending him for his actions on Yucca Mountain and suggesting appropriate directions for a re-evaluation of radioactive waste policy.
April 19, 2009: Presentation from Michael Mariotte's talk on nukes and climate at SUNY Stonybrook.
April 17, 2009: Intervenors Response Brief to UniStar's Appeal in Calvert Cliffs Licensing Case.
April 2, 2009: Help Stop Pro-Nuke Budget Amendments NOW!
March 2009: Who is Constellation Energy Consorting With? Get to know Electricite de France (EDF) and AREVA
March 30, 2009: Groups throughout NY testified at the 4 public DEIS hearings on West Valley cleanup calling for Full Cleanup of the nuclear and hazardous waste site upstream of Lakes Erie and Ontario the week of March 30- April 2, 2009. NIRS Press Release.
March 26, 2009: Former utility executive Arnie Gundersen’s presentation in Harrisburg, PA on explaining how the Nuclear Regulatory Commission greatly underestimated the radiation releases from the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident.
March 26, 2009: Alert! Take Action Now! Let's All Act to End Nuclear/Coal Subsidies!
March 26, 2009: Powerpoint by former utility executive Arnie Gunderson concludes that
far more radiation was released by the 1979 Three Mile Island accident
than acknowledged by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
March 24, 2009: ASLB accepts 3 contentions, orders hearing in Calvert Cliffs-3 licensing proceeding. ASLB Order ; NIRS Press Release.
March 24, 2009: Peter Bradford was an NRC Commissioner at the time of the Three Mile Island accident in 1979. He was asked to testify before a Senate subcommittee about the accident and lessons learned. Here is a copy of his prepared testimony; we think you’ll find it useful.
March 18, 2009: Despite overwhelming scientific evidence, NRC declares depleted uranium to be Class A "low-level" radioactive waste:
Press release from Institute for Energy and Environmental Research.
NRC decision.
Dissenting comments from NRC Commissioner Greg Jaczko.
Letter to President Obama from national environmental groups urging no more nuclear loan guarantees. March 17, 2009
Feburary 6, 2009: NIRS, Ecology Party, Green Party file legal challenge before NRC to proposed new reactors on greenfields site in Levy County, Florida.
December 22, 2008: Joint intervenors (NIRS, et al) reply brief to NRC, UniStar defending standing and admissibility of contentions in Calvert Cliffs-3 licensing proceeding.
December 19, 2008: State of Nevada’s petition to intervene in the NRC Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding. The state has raised 229 contentions against this project. Note, this is a very large file (13 megabytes, 1,566 pages).
December 18, 2008: Deal That Could Pave the Way for Four New Nuclear Reactors In the U.S. Is Taxpayer Boondoggle; statement from grassroots groups on UniStar Nuclear/Electricite de France/Constellation Energy buyout arrangement.
December 15, 2008: The NRC’s reactor licensing process is in disarray. NIRS briefing sheet.
December 10, 2008: World's environmental movement says "Keep nukes out of Kyoto Protocol":
Press Release
Press Advisory, including main statement
List of organizational signers
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Reports, Papers and Info You Can Use
May 2009: Nuclear France Abroad: History, Status and Prospects of French Nuclear Activities in Foreign Countries. A new report from Mycle Schneider Consulting on the expansion of the French nuclear power industry across the world.
EPR: The French Reactor. A Costly and Hazardous Obstacle to Climate Protection. November 2008 report from Greenpeace International on the problems with the French Evolutionary Power Reactor, proposed for Maryland, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New York in the U.S.
France’s Nuclear Failures: The Great Illusion of Nuclear Energy, November 2008 report from Greenpeace International on the failures of the French nuclear program.
March 2009: The High Cost of Nuclear Power: Why America Should Choose a Clean Energy Future over New Nuclear Reactors, a new report by Maryland PIRG Foundation.
March 2009: Can we go carbon-free, nuclear-free? A resounding Yes! says a new report prepared for Greenpeace by German Aerospace Center (German counterpart to NASA). Energy [r]evolution: A sustainable USA concludes that a virtually carbon-free, nuclear-free energy future for the U.S. is possible by mid-century, at an acceptable economic cost. Download here.
March 2009: Nuclear Loan Guarantees: Another Taxpayer Bailout Ahead? New report from Union of Concerned Scientists warns that the risk to taxpayers of loan guarantees for new reactors could total $360 Billion to $1.6 Trillion.
January 2009: Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power, a new study by CPA Craig Severance, finds that escalating reactor construction and operating costs could lead to electricity from new nukes as high as 25-30 cents per kw/h—significantly higher than industry estimates.
December 2008: New study from Stanford researcher ranks solutions to climate crisis; concludes nuclear and “clean” coal are least effective, least desirable means of addressing climate change. Press release from Stanford University. Article in Energy and Environmental Science.
December 2008: Nuclear Power in France: Beyond the Myth, a new report by Mycle Schneider Consulting for Greens/EFA in the European Parliament, offers a thorough examination of the French nuclear power industry, noting both its strengths and some surprising weaknesses.... Another major new report on the French nuclear industry, from WISE-Paris, titled Nuclear Power, the Great Illusion - Promises, Setbacks and Threats, is available here. Both reports will be very useful for everyone countering the argument that the French nuclear power program is somehow a great success.
July 22, 2008: Presentation from Synapse Energy Economics on water, climate change and risk in electricity planning.
July 2008: Testimony of David Schlissel, Synapse Energy Economics, before the Maryland Public Service Commission, on the extraordinarily high cost estimates for new nuclear reactors. While this was prepared for hearings on the proposed Calvert Cliffs EPR, most of this testimony will be useful to anyone looking at nuclear power economics for any proposed reactor.
July 2008: Study (which reviews 103 previous studies and finds nearly all lacking) concludes that nuclear power is not carbon-free, and its carbon emissions, while far lower than all fossil fuels, are higher than renewable sources of energy. Published in Energy Policy, by Benjamin Sovacool, University of Singapore & Virginia Tech.
May 27, 2008: An important new article from Rocky Mountain Institute: The Nuclear Illusion by Amory Lovins and Imran Sheikh. “Nuclear power is continuing its decades-long collapse in the global marketplace because it’s grossly uncompetitive, unneeded, and obsolete—so hopelessly uneconomic that one needn’t debate whether it’s clean and safe; it weakens electric reliability and national security; and it worsens climate change compared with devoting the same money and time to more effective options.” Read this to understand the reality of energy in the 21st century, and make sure your elected representatives at every level of government read it too.
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