Most would agree with this assessment, and one hopes the anti-technology advocates are not as successful this time in stopping the development of this very clean technology; and it might also someday appear certain that Sacramento made a dreadful mistake shutting down Rancho Seco.
Nuclear power gets PG&E ally
The utility's boss says it's needed to halt global warming.
By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, January 18, 2007
PG&E Corp. Chairman Peter Darbee said Wednesday that it may not be possible to bring global warming under control without building more nuclear power plants.
PG&E and its utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., serves customers through Northern California and as far south as Bakersfield. The company owns and operates the twin-reactor Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant near San Luis Obispo.
Darbee's comments came in an interview after he accepted an award from one of the country's leading environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council. The citation applauded PG&E's work to reduce global warming, calling it "the most effective supporter of energy efficiency in the utility industry."
Darbee also appeared at a news conference with other power company executives as Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., announced the introduction of legislation intended to steadily lower greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming. The Feinstein bill, introduced with Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., would reduce emissions from power plants by 25 percent in 12 years.
"This is the most aggressive global warming bill the industry has agreed to," said Feinstein, who had turned to Darbee for help in organizing the industry behind it.
Power plant emissions contribute a third of the greenhouse gases emitted annually in the United States. Much of the emissions, mainly carbon dioxide, are from coal-burning plants, none of which are located n California.
In a speech after receiving the award, Darbee said the country needs to transform the way it produces power if it is to stem "the potential environmental disasters associated with global warming."
