FUKUSHIMA NEWS

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NEW NUKES for Georgia???

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Educating and activating the grassroots to create a
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PO Box 8574
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404-378-4263
nukewatchsouth@mindspring.com

NO NUKES Y'ALL!

ACTION CENTER | STOP NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEES

Tell President Obama: "STOP PLANT VOGTLE ~ Stop nuclear loan guarantees"

This ongoing action has been updated in response Congressional push-back on the loan guarantee default of a solar start-up company and urges the White House Office of Management and Budget stop the $8.3 billion loan guarantee which has still not been given to Southern Company. Even if you have written about nuclear loan guarantees many times before you still need to SEND LETTER TO STOP THE NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEE FOR VOGTLE REACTORS

>>> SKIP BACKGROUND / TAKE ACTION <<<

BACKGROUND On February 9, 2012, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the first new reactors since the 1978 meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. Southern Company has now received the go-ahead to construct two new reactors at the Vogtle site near Augusta, Georgia. President Obama has already promised Southern Company $8.3 billion in tax-funded loan guarantees towards the $14 billion cost of the proposed reactors. The failure of Solyndra, a start-up solar company which defaulted on a $500 million Department of Energy loan guarantee, has launched Congressional and White House investigations into the DOE loan program which give us new opportunity to stop the loan guarantee to the rich and powerful private shareholder-owned Southern Company.

Southern Company is already applying to the NRC for dozens of design changes stemming in large part from errors in soil compaction studies which have caused the first layer of concrete laid — the basemat — to have a surface variance of 4" where only 1" variance is allowed. Two weeks later the NRC busted Southern Company contractors Shaw Industries for using substandard rebar, idling two dozen workers until further notice.

Government loan guarantees have a dismal history with a 50% default rate. Small loan guarantees recently given by the U.S. Department of Energy to fund alternative energies have defaulted already and Representatives Upton (R-MI) and Waxman (D-CA) demanded an audit of DOE's loan guarantees program which is currently under White House review. The White House is expected to finalize its review of the loan guarantees program very soon and make a decision on whether to give Southern Company the coveted $8.3 billion tax-funded loan at a rate of from 0% to .5% interest! Rep. Sensenbrenner (R-WI) is putting pressure on the White House to look very deeply before squandering more of the taxpayers' money. It is important to note that the defaulted loans that launched the investigation were far, far smaller than the nuclear loan guarantee to Southern Company would be.

The horrifying nuclear meltdowns unfolding in Japan underscore the importance of nuclear safety and infallible containment systems which are beyond the limits of human capability. NOW IS OUR TIME to press the point that we do not want nuclear power:

We want green energy for jobs and climate action NOW.

Please read and edit the message below, and send to President Obama TODAY. Your message will be sent straight to the President Obama with copies to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, David Frantz who directs the Department of Energy's loan guarantee office as well as copies to Representatives Upton, Waxman and Sensenbrenner.

Representative Cliff Stearns (FL) is chair of the Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee investigating the DOE loan guarantees. He has said that nuclear is a proven technology and can't be compared to the failure of Solyndra. He wouldn't give an e-mail address to receive comments in his national capacity on the subcommittee but gives this phone number to receive comments: 202-225-2927.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE END OF THE MESSAGE

President Barack Obama The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama, As we stand in solidarity with the people of Japan, offering assistance and prayers, we must also take heed from the unfolding radiological catastrophe at the Fukushima nuclear reactor complex. Deriving energy from nuclear reactors has never been economical, nor safe. Japan's tragedy reminds of the extreme and unnecessary risks taken when nuclear reactors are built and operated. Clean and sustainable energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal and geothermal are where we MUST put our attention, our funding, and our future. I urge you, withdraw the loan guarantees promised to Southern Company in Georgia, and put a stop to the nuclear loan guarantee program immediately. All earmarks for nuclear power development should go towards making irradiated spent fuel immediately safer on each reactor site by removing dangerous irradiated fuel rods from vulnerable fuel pools and placing into robust, dry cask storage. I am aware of Congressional interest in the loan guarantee program which has a historical default rate of 50%. I share the concerns expressed by Representatives Upton, Waxman and Sensenbrenner about the lack of transparency of the loan guarantee program process at the U.S. Department of Energy. The loan guarantees promised to Southern Company are more than 15 times as much as the defaulted Solyndra loan. The market forces which caused Solyndra's failure, mainly the astonishing success of solar energy with which even Solyndra was unable to compete, will have far greater impact on nuclear energy which takes many, many years to bring on line while solar will inevitably sprint ahead. I believe you should release the findings in the Allison audit to the public as well as the terms and conditions of any loan guarantee that is under consideration or approved. I am aware of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy's lawsuit and Freedom of Information Act requests for transparency in the secret terms of the DOE loan guarantees. I am aware that the federal treasury will most likely be tapped to make the loan and that wealthy, powerful Southern Company seeks borrowing terms at rock bottom rates unheard of in the private sector. Southern Company's Vogtle project is already $900 million over budget in the first year of construction. Reactor designer Westinghouse, Vogtle contractor Shaw Industries and Southern Company are all blaming each other for the problems in lawsuits. This is not the kind of risky project to squander our tax dollars as we recover from an historic recession! You have children, I urge you: think about their children and the world you will leave them. We, the people, placed our faith in your leadership through the ballot box because we believed in the values you held forth during your presidential campaign. We call on you now to fulfill the expectations of a president who is a humanitarian, a conservationist, a diplomat, and a visionary. For the love of life itself, call a permanent halt to the development of nuclear power and focus the entire energy and resources of the country exclusively on what is truly safe. A carbon-free and nuclear-free energy future is technically and economically feasible. What's missing is the political will. What a wonderful legacy this could be for your administration. And for our kids. Respectfully submitted, cc: Secretary Steven Chu Department of Energy David Frantz Director Loan Guarantee Program Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, Wisconsin Representative Fred Upton, Michigan Representative Henry Waxman, California

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE END OF THE MESSAGE

Your letter will be sent to The President with the information you provide below:

* = Required

* First Name:

* Last Name:

* Address #1:

Address #2:

* City:

* State: * Zip:

* Email Address:

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Help the NO NUKES Y'ALL campaign y'all

Nuclear Watch South is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible charitable organization.

{ thanks }

PayPal It's your safe and secure way to donate on-line

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NEW NUKES for Georgia???

NO THANKS!!!

Educating and activating the grassroots to create a nuclear-free future

~

PO Box 8574 Atlanta, GA 31106 404-378-4263 nukewatchsouth@mindspring.com

NO NUKES Y'ALL!

ACTION CENTER | STOP NUCLEAR LOAN GUARANTEES

Tell President Obama: "STOP PLANT VOGTLE ~ Stop nuclear loan guarantees"

>>> SKIP BACKGROUND / TAKE ACTION <<<

We want green energy for jobs and climate action NOW.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE END OF THE MESSAGE

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN YOUR NAME AT THE END OF THE MESSAGE

NO NUKES Y'ALL!

"To the village square we must carry the facts of atomic energy. From there must come America's voice." ALBERT EINSTEIN

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Cool stickers FREE with FREE membership in Nuclear Watch South!

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MORE ON LOAN GUARANTEES

SENSENBRENNER LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA January 30, 2012

UPTON/WAXMAN LETTER TO LOAN GUARANTEE AUDITORS January 30, 2012

NUCLEAR NOT THE ANSWER Dr. Arjun Makhijani

"Obama Trying to Fast Track Nuke Plants, Critics Say" ABC News

"Obama's Nuclear Boondoggle" Mother Jones

FIVE REASONS NOT TO INVEST IN NUCLEAR POWER Robert Alvarez

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MORE ON AP 1000 DESIGN FLAWS

POST ACCIDENT AP1000 CONTAINMENT LEAKAGE An Unresolved Safety Issue by Arnold Gundersen

CRITICS CHALLENGE SAFETY OF REACTOR DESIGN New York Times

GROUPS SAY NEW VOGTLE REACTORS NEED STUDY Augusta Chronicle

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Help the
NO NUKES Y'ALL
campaign
y'all

PayPal
It's your safe and secure
way to donate on-line

Educating and activating the grassroots to create a
nuclear-free future

PO Box 8574
Atlanta, GA 31106
404-378-4263
nukewatchsouth@mindspring.com

"To the village square
we must carry the facts
of atomic energy.
From there must come America's voice."

ALBERT EINSTEIN

Cool stickers FREE with FREE membership in
Nuclear Watch South!

MORE ON
LOAN GUARANTEES

SENSENBRENNER LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
January 30, 2012

UPTON/WAXMAN LETTER TO LOAN GUARANTEE AUDITORS
January 30, 2012

NUCLEAR NOT THE ANSWER
Dr. Arjun Makhijani

"Obama Trying to
Fast Track Nuke Plants, Critics Say"
ABC News

"Obama's Nuclear Boondoggle"
Mother Jones

FIVE REASONS
NOT TO INVEST IN NUCLEAR POWER
Robert Alvarez

MORE ON
AP 1000
DESIGN FLAWS

POST ACCIDENT AP1000 CONTAINMENT LEAKAGE
An Unresolved
Safety Issue
by Arnold Gundersen

CRITICS CHALLENGE SAFETY OF REACTOR DESIGN
New York Times

GROUPS SAY NEW VOGTLE REACTORS NEED STUDY
Augusta Chronicle