WNPJ's Carbon Free, Nuclear Free Campaign

Submitted by staff on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 12:38pm

Join WNPJ's Carbon Free Nuclear Free campaign!

Wisconsin can build an energy future that gives us affordable power, creates jobs and improves our environment. So why gamble on costly nuclear reactors that generate radioactive waste?

Wisconsin can be carbon free and nuclear free -- if we demand it!

Please click here to sign up for free email updates on our Carbon Free, Nuclear Free campaign. Read below for more information, or contact the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice at diane@wnpj.org or 608-250-9240.

Repeatedly, the nuclear industry and its supporters in the state legislature have tried to remove the common-sense safeguards Wisconsin places on nuclear reactors. State law requires that, before a new nuclear reactor can be built here, there must be a federally-licensed repository for the high-level radioactive waste and the electricity must not place an undue financial burden on our residents and businesses.

Our Carbon Free, Nuclear Free campaign works to maintain these nuclear safeguards and supports the expansion of renewable energy and a greater commitment to energy efficiency in Wisconsin.

State legislature

Despite the tragic nuclear disaster in Japan, Wisconsin state Representative Mark Honadel, the chair of the Assembly Committee on Energy and Utilities, says he still plans to introduce a bill to repeal Wisconsin's radioactive waste and cost safeguards on new nuclear reactors in the near future.

So we need you to take action.  Today!

Please call your Representative and Senator, via the legislative hotline at 1-800-362-9472.  Or, you can find your legislators and their office numbers online, at waml.legis.state.wi.us

Past sessions

In the 2009-2010 Wisconsin legislative session, there were two measures that would have gutted our safeguards on new nuclear reactors.

Assembly Bill 516 / Senate Bill 340 would have completely repealed our nuclear safeguards. While this bill died in committee, it received more sponsors than any previous repeal measure -- 25 Representatives and 10 Senators!

The Clean Energy Jobs Act (Senate Bill 450 / Assembly Bill 649) would have also gutted our nuclear safeguards, by removing the requirement for a radioactive waste repository and easing the financial requirements.

Because the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) also contained important provisions furthering energy efficiency and renewable energy in Wisconsin, our Carbon Free, Nuclear Free coalition worked for months to craft language to add to CEJA that would shore up our nuclear safeguards, and to find legislators to introduce and support the language.

Unfortunately, the final version of CEJA was even more pro-nuclear, while its good renewable, energy efficiency and transportation provisions were watered down significantly. We reluctantly decided to oppose CEJA.

CEJA died at the end of the session, without receiving votes on the Senate or Assembly floor, due to big business opposition and internal politics.

That means that Wisconsin legislators will be working in future sessions to craft our energy future -- and the repeal effort will likely continue. So your representatives need to hear from you!

Contact your state representatives!

Please call your state Representative and Senator and tell them that nuclear energy isn't clean and shouldn't be included in future clean energy bills! Please also tell them that you want Wisconsin's restrictions on new nuclear reactors to be kept intact!

You can look up your legislators and their direct office numbers online, here. Or you can call the Capitol switchboard at 1-800-362-9472 and ask to be connected with their offices.

Thank you for taking action! Constituent phone calls and letters really do make a difference.

Read more about the issue

To keep updated on WNPJ's Carbon Free, Nuclear Free campaign, subscribe to our email newsletter by clicking here.