Friends of the Earth Staffer Recognized as “Grassroots Activist of the Year”
At its annual pilgrimage to lobby in Washington, the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA), an umbrella organization of public interest organizations working on U.S. Department of Energy nuclear issues, recognized our southeastern nuclear campaign coordinator, Tom Clements, as “Grassroots Activist of the Year.” The award was presented on April 28 in the Rayburn House Office Building to a gathering of activists based both in Washington and around the country.
The ANA, founded in 1987, is a network of 35 local, regional and national organizations working on issues related to the Department of Energy and its sites located around the country. ANA focuses on clean-up of the environmental mess left behind by the Cold War, is in favor of disarmament of the U.S. and global nuclear weapons stockpiles, and against a host of wasteful programs being pursued by the Department of Energy. Each year the group recognizes the work of one activist for making a significant effort in the fight for a nuclear-free world.
Tom Clements has been active with ANA for 20 years and has been a national leader on a host of issues related to nuclear power and nuclear non-proliferation. He worked for the Greenpeace nuclear campaign for 15 years and was also the director of the Nuclear Control Institute during his years in Washington. Now, he has been working with Friends of the Earth in Columbia, South Carolina for over a year and has taken on the task of challenging the entrenched nuclear industry there.
In South Carolina, Friends of the Earth has cooperated with ANA in opposing the construction of a plutonium fuel (MOX) plant at the 310-square mile Savannah River Site. This project, which, at a 2007 cost estimate of $4.8 billion, is the most expensive single project now being pursued by the Department of Energy. In the aftermath of the decision not to pursue the Yucca Mountain facility, Department of Energy officials have recently proposed the Savannah River Site as a dump for the nation’s spent fuel. They would also like it to be a reprocessing plant which would remove plutonium from the fuel and create a huge volume of liquid high-level waste. Friends of the Earth has been busy raising public concern about this nuclear dump plan.
Friends of the Earth has also been highly visible in leading in opposing new nuclear reactors by Duke Energy and South Carolina Electric and Gas and have been a strong voice for pursuit of conservation, efficiency and renewables.
Congratulations to Tom for recognition of his hard work with Friends of the Earth!