Less than two weeks old at this writing, the Administration of George W. Bush already is shaping up to be the most ardently pro-energy interests, pro-nuclear presidency in history. Considering that the Administration is led by two Texas oilmen, that’s perhaps not surprising. But what is more startling is the level of boldness--yet with a measure of desperation—evinced by the nuclear industry and its backers since the U.S. Supreme Court chose Bush to assume the presidency.

The atomic power industry and its allies seem to be gambling everything on the next four years, and they’re trying to get off to an all-aces start. They are telling the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that they will build new reactors now, if the NRC will cooperate on industry’s terms. Using California’s self-imposed problems as a convenient pretext, they are seeking sweeping changes in the nation’s nuclear and energy laws. And they are working hard and successfully to put their key people in the necessary positions to influence both domestic nuclear policy and U.S. atomic industry interests abroad.

Knowledge is power, and understanding what they want, and how they will try to obtain it, is the first step toward defeating the nuclear industry. That’s the purpose of this issue of the Nuclear Monitor, where you’ll find: an analysis of the Republican energy bill—probably the most spectacularly anti-environmental legislation ever penned; a look at the Bush Administration’s close ties to the nuclear industry; Harvey Wasserman’s take on the California energy deregulation debacle; Exelon’s plans to build an untried nuclear reactor technology in the U.S.—before Bush leaves office; and a lot more….