by Richard Morrison
October 28, 2009
1. ENVIRONMENT
Democrats consider adding incentives for new
nuclear power facilities to their existing cap and trade bill.
CEI Expert Available
to Comment: Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy Myron
Ebell on the real prospects
for nuclear:
“No new nuclear power plants will be built unless there is
somewhere to store the waste. Here’s what Sens. John Kerry and Lindsey
Graham say about that: ‘We must also do more to encourage serious investment in
research and development to find solutions to our nuclear waste problem.’ In
other words, not finish the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada that the federal government has
already spent billions on, but which Majority Leader Harry Reid and President
Obama oppose.”
2. HEALTH
Sen. Joe Lieberman’s defection
from the Democratic caucus on health care generates anger in the Senate.
CEI Expert Available
to Comment: Senior Fellow Gregory
Conko on the health care problems the Senate should be trying to
fix:
“Efforts by federal and state
governments over the past few decades to solve these problems have generated
additional burdens and distortions, leading to increasingly bigger problems. To
ensure affordable coverage for those in poor health or with potentially
expensive medical conditions, governments have implemented guaranteed
renewability, guaranteed issue, and community rating laws that force healthy
individuals to subsidize those with higher health care costs.”
3. BUSINESS
Energy Secretary Steven Chu warns that the U.S. must become a leader in “cleantech”
energy sources or become dependent on other nations.
CEI Expert Available
to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis rebuts Chu’s assertion:
“This point is silly on many levels. First, even if we
choose to limit emissions, the German experience indicates that investing huge
amounts in clean tech is not cost-effective. Second, if we don’t enact
cap-and-trade, why even bother considering clean tech as an emissions-reduction
strategy? Third, even if we do enact a cap-and-trade program, and even if clean
tech becomes cost-effective, why would we want to make our own wind
turbines and [solar panels] if imported products are cheaper?”
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