February 23, 2007
Greenpeace co-founder changes mind
Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, pens an op-ed in the New York Post endorsing the use of nuclear power, an enemy that the greenies fought tooth and nail for decades.
AS co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace, I once opposed nuclear energy. But times have changed, and new facts of compelling importance have emerged - and so my views have changed as well, as have those of a growing number of respected, independent environmentalists around the world.There are few places where nuclear power makes as much sense or is as important as in New York. Indeed, the state is a microcosm of the challenges America and the world face to have ample, clean and reasonably priced electricity. As such, I strongly support renewal of the license for the Indian Point nuclear plants in Westchester, which provides 30 percent or so of the electricity used in the New York metro area.
Well, congratulations to Mr. Moore for honestly owning-up that environmental alarmism was wrong-headed. I remember when anti-nuclear activists forced the abandonment of the partially-constructed Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire, forcing a billion dollar write-off in a period when a billion dollars was worth a lot more than today.
There are many reasons to support nuclear power, even if you are skeptical about global warming theories. Replacing hydrocarbon-based fuels for electricity generation will reduce demand for oil, coal and natural gas, helping ease price pressures, and reducing the economic clout of the oil exporting extremist regimes that bedevil the world today. Huge advances have occurred in technology since the time nuclear power plant construction was abandoned in the United States.
So how about a little humility on the other alarm bells the greenies are so fond of ringing? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice....