Philosophy
Retired
Big Brutus
Mineral, Kansas
More on Stephen Chu and pressure from Republicans demanding that "...Mr. Chu be a more forceful advocate for nuclear energy."
WASHINGTON -- Physicist Steven Chu, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Department of Energy, softened previously critical comments about coal and nuclear power, and distanced himself from earlier statements that U.S. gas taxes should be higher.
Testifying before a Senate panel considering his nomination, Mr. Chu warned of "dramatic, disruptive changes to our climate system in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren" if the U.S. and other nations don't speed up efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Making vehicles and buildings more efficient -- rather than increasing access to oil on federal land -- is the best step for reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, he said. "I do not underestimate the difficulty of meeting these challenges, but I remain optimistic," Mr. Chu said.
Mr. Obama has pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, through new legislation. He also seeks to double over three years the amount of wind, solar and geothermal generating capacity, currently around 25,000 megawatts -- steps that have aroused skepticism and resistance from some industries.
In a speech Tuesday in Washington, the CEO of ConocoPhillips, James Mulva, called for being "realistic about the cost of green energy," and suggested policy makers were in danger of "inadvertently creating unattainable public expectations."
Lawmakers who attended the hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources praised Mr. Chu's credentials, which include a Nobel Prize. Lawmakers pressed Mr. Chu with competing demands, and he responded by toning down or qualifying statements made when he was running the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Republicans demanded Mr. Chu be a more forceful advocate for nuclear energy. Mr. Chu promised to accelerate the disbursal of loan guarantees that his agency is authorized to give to companies seeking to build nuclear reactors. In response to Democrats' unease about the expansion of nuclear plants, Mr. Chu said his agency needed to develop a better plan for waste disposal than the Yucca Mountain depository in Nevada.
Lawmakers from states with big coal-mining interests challenged Mr. Chu on his stance toward coal, which generates half of U.S. electric power. Mr. Chu two years ago referred to the expansion of coal-fired power plants as "my worst nightmare." On Tuesday, he offered Senators a more upbeat assessment of coal's future, calling it a "great national resource." He said he was optimistic his agency could help develop technology capable of capturing and safely storing the greenhouse-gas emissions from coal plants, and indicated he would oppose a "hard moratorium" on the construction of coal plants that lack such technology, as some Democrats advocate.
Ian Talley contributed to this article.
President-Elect Obama's science team
Steven Chu--Secretary of Energy
Steven Chu's slight change
- Japan's Power Thirst Will Necessitate 14 Nuclear Power Plants
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By the time this is a done deal Obama will have gray hair and whiskers. Design plans are not complete, legal suits are pending, and there will certainly be congressional foot dragging as well as a cadre of those that are against this decision. "In Bid...
- King Coal And Energy
Like it or not coal generated energy will be here for a long time. James McNerney. Jessika E. Trancik, and J. Doyne Farmer have written an interesting paper on coal/energy. Abstract: We study the costs of coal-fired electricity in the United States between...
- Nuclear Energy--not An Option
An Op Ed opinion by Derrick Z. Jackson of The Boston Globe raises once again the problems of nuclear energy plans: Cost and waste. But yet, both candidates throw the concept into the fray of alternative energy sources. Is such a notion ridding piggyback...
Philosophy
Chu: Coal and nuclear energy
RetiredBig Brutus
Mineral, Kansas
More on Stephen Chu and pressure from Republicans demanding that "...Mr. Chu be a more forceful advocate for nuclear energy."
"Chu Softens Views on Coal, Nuclear Power"
by
Stephen Power
January 14th, 2009
The Wall Street Journal
by
Stephen Power
January 14th, 2009
The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- Physicist Steven Chu, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to run the Department of Energy, softened previously critical comments about coal and nuclear power, and distanced himself from earlier statements that U.S. gas taxes should be higher.
Testifying before a Senate panel considering his nomination, Mr. Chu warned of "dramatic, disruptive changes to our climate system in the lifetimes of our children and grandchildren" if the U.S. and other nations don't speed up efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Making vehicles and buildings more efficient -- rather than increasing access to oil on federal land -- is the best step for reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil, he said. "I do not underestimate the difficulty of meeting these challenges, but I remain optimistic," Mr. Chu said.
Mr. Obama has pledged to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions 80% from 1990 levels by 2050, through new legislation. He also seeks to double over three years the amount of wind, solar and geothermal generating capacity, currently around 25,000 megawatts -- steps that have aroused skepticism and resistance from some industries.
In a speech Tuesday in Washington, the CEO of ConocoPhillips, James Mulva, called for being "realistic about the cost of green energy," and suggested policy makers were in danger of "inadvertently creating unattainable public expectations."
Lawmakers who attended the hearing of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources praised Mr. Chu's credentials, which include a Nobel Prize. Lawmakers pressed Mr. Chu with competing demands, and he responded by toning down or qualifying statements made when he was running the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Republicans demanded Mr. Chu be a more forceful advocate for nuclear energy. Mr. Chu promised to accelerate the disbursal of loan guarantees that his agency is authorized to give to companies seeking to build nuclear reactors. In response to Democrats' unease about the expansion of nuclear plants, Mr. Chu said his agency needed to develop a better plan for waste disposal than the Yucca Mountain depository in Nevada.
Lawmakers from states with big coal-mining interests challenged Mr. Chu on his stance toward coal, which generates half of U.S. electric power. Mr. Chu two years ago referred to the expansion of coal-fired power plants as "my worst nightmare." On Tuesday, he offered Senators a more upbeat assessment of coal's future, calling it a "great national resource." He said he was optimistic his agency could help develop technology capable of capturing and safely storing the greenhouse-gas emissions from coal plants, and indicated he would oppose a "hard moratorium" on the construction of coal plants that lack such technology, as some Democrats advocate.
Ian Talley contributed to this article.
President-Elect Obama's science team
Steven Chu--Secretary of Energy
Steven Chu's slight change
- Japan's Power Thirst Will Necessitate 14 Nuclear Power Plants
Is this really a wise decision? "Japan planning 14 nuclear plants: report" March 21st, 2010 Nuclear Power Daily Resource-poor Japan is planning to build at least 14 nuclear power plants over the next 20 years to reduce its reliance on other countries...
- Nuclear Socialism?
As mentioned earlier [ Obama gives green light to new reactors ] Obama is pandering to visions of pie in the sky and offering what author Michael Grunwald terms "nuclear socialism". This is by no means a done deal and is already drawing criticism. [See...
- Obama Gives Green Light To New Reactors
By the time this is a done deal Obama will have gray hair and whiskers. Design plans are not complete, legal suits are pending, and there will certainly be congressional foot dragging as well as a cadre of those that are against this decision. "In Bid...
- King Coal And Energy
Like it or not coal generated energy will be here for a long time. James McNerney. Jessika E. Trancik, and J. Doyne Farmer have written an interesting paper on coal/energy. Abstract: We study the costs of coal-fired electricity in the United States between...
- Nuclear Energy--not An Option
An Op Ed opinion by Derrick Z. Jackson of The Boston Globe raises once again the problems of nuclear energy plans: Cost and waste. But yet, both candidates throw the concept into the fray of alternative energy sources. Is such a notion ridding piggyback...