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Print Edition StoriesWednesday, February 17, 2010
Policy Tracker
Supreme Court decision blocks global warming efforts; Commission looks into nuclear power
MHT's Galen Moore: N.E. firms target individual carbon footprints
New England prepared to leverage smart grid expertise
MHT's Efrain Viscarolasaga: Solar installation booms in New England
Supreme Court decision 'a serious problem'
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that opened the floodgates for corporate and union spending on political campaigns presents a major obstacle to global warming policies, according to a prominent advocate on climate change policy. “I think we ought to give some thought to how we discourage, effectively, corporations from heading down that path in a big way,” said Kevin Knobloch, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, to a State House audience of legislators and aides.
Knobloch told the News Service his organization would consider backing legislative efforts to overturn the Supreme Court decision – a 5-4 ruling that drew the ire of President Barack Obama but won praise from businesses and First Amendment purists. Knobloch said environmental groups can combat corporate interests against global warming legislation by creating “viral” ads.
— State House News Service
Commission named to address nuclear waste
Energy Secretary Steven Chu appointed a commission to develop a long-term solution to managing used nuclear fuel and waste, one of the obstacles standing in the way of generating more nuclear power.
Two Washington heavyweights will chair the commission: Lee Hamilton, a former House Intelligence Committee chairman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and Brent Scowcroft, the national security adviser to President Gerald Ford and President George H.W. Bush.
President Barack Obama wants to make nuclear power a larger source of electricity production in the U.S. because nuclear plants emit low levels of greenhouse gases. The president’s budget for fiscal 2011 calls for $54.5 billion in loan guarantees for construction of new nuclear power plants, triple the current amount.
“We’re committed to restarting this industry and regaining American leadership,” Chu said.
The president used his State of the Union address to call for “building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country.” In a memorandum directing Chu to establish the commission, Obama noted that increasing nuclear power production “is crucial to our ability to combat climate change, enhance energy security and increase economic prosperity.”
— Kent Hoover, ACBJ Wire Service
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