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Sunday, July 1st, 2018

Nuclear, coal bailout worth any cost ‘to keep America free’: US Energy Secretary Rick Perry

Author:    
Source:     Raw Story/Reuters
Publication Date:     29 JUN 2018 AT 11:44 ET
Link: Nuclear, coal bailout worth any cost ‘to keep America free’: US Energy Secretary Rick Perry
Stephan:   The rest of the developed nations are moving as fast as they can into a post-carbon reality. The United States in contrast is moving backwards to satisfy the greed of the neo-feudal lords who own the country. Straight out of the classic fascist playbook it is all being argued on national security terms, as this report describes . The argument will not withstand scrutiny. The well-ruled nations of the world are  investing in, and designing entirely new decentralized power systems, solar roads, charging stations, regional and local solar and wind. Strategically in either war or environmental catastrophe, such systems are better, and cheaper. And then there's the clean-up. What do Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima suggest to you?  

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said on Thursday that bailing out struggling coal and nuclear power plants is as important to national security as keeping the military strong, and that the cost to Americans should not be an issue.

“You cannot put a dollar figure on the cost to keep America free,” he told reporters at a press conference in Washington, when asked about the administration’s effort to extend the lives of the facilities. When asked about the cost of a potential bailout, he said he did not yet know.

“We look at the electricity grid as every bit as important to (national security) as making sure we have the right number of ships, aircraft and personnel,” he said. “What is your freedom worth?”

President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) to take emergency measures to slow the retirements of coal and nuclear power plants, arguing those kinds of facilities can store months of fuel on site and therefore withstand supply disruptions that could be caused by storms, hacks, or physical attacks.

The effort fits neatly with the administration’s broader agenda to boost U.S. fossil fuels production and to save the coal industry, but has been criticized by an unusual alliance […]

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2 Comments

  1. samcrespi on Sunday, July 1, 2018 at 8:15 am

    To keep America isolated! That said, am grateful and deeply moved by all the people who showed up yesterday across the nation to express what was in essence a connection to compassion.

  2. will on Sunday, July 1, 2018 at 12:55 pm

    Ah, good old Rick Perry one of the leading intellectual lights of the trump administration. I just continue to wonder what will become of us all.

    Still the worst is no action on nuclear waste. This in my mind is the most immediate and very long-term threat to all life on the planet. These power stations are getting very old and many have been shut and more are planned for shut down. Then what? Oh yes, renew the licenses and burn more coal…