Obama Doubles Down on Dirty Energy in Speech
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Nick Berning, 202-222-0748, [email protected]; Kelly Trout, 202-222-0722, [email protected]
Obama Doubles Down on Dirty Energy, Continues to Call Nukes ‘Clean,’ Ignores Clean Air Act
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to President Obama’s speech today on the subject of energy security, as well as supporting documentation released by the White House, Friends of the Earth Climate and Energy Director Damon Moglen had the following statement:
“This speech was more about polluting the future than winning it. President Obama today doubled down on his support for dirty energy sources including the nuclear, corn ethanol, oil, natural gas, and coal industries, while going AWOL on a crucial fight over the Clean Air Act.
“Given the escalating radiation disaster in Japan, it’s dumbfounding that President Obama believes it’s justifiable to call nuclear energy ‘clean.’ After such misguided nuclear boosterism, in addition to the multibillion dollar bailout guarantees for the nuclear industry that the President supports, it’s easy to see why Duke Energy was willing to offer the President’s party a $10 million line of credit for the 2012 Democratic convention.
“Moreover, it is unacceptable that in a speech billed as being about ‘energy security,’ the President failed to recommit his administration to defending the Clean Air Act against rollbacks. The Clean Air Act is the most potent tool against climate change that Congress has created, and climate change is the biggest energy-related threat to our security. If the President is truly serious about energy security, he must be much more vocal in his support of this crucial law.”
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