The Los Angeles Times provided encouraging signs today that an increasing number of Democratic lawmakers may be open to policies that further remove impediments to nuclear-power generation as an alternative to fossil fuels. In California, for example, while Sen. Barbara Boxer remains opposed, Sen. Diane Feinstein and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seem to be in the process of switching to pro. Most Californians now favor lifting restrictions on building nuclear plants in the state, a bill filed in the legislature this year.
Nuclear power seems part of what I see as an emerging Left-Right-Center “deal” on climate change. No, I haven’t given into alarmism. I still think the projections of global catastrophe from human-induced warming are unwarranted based on what I’ve read and heard. But if you don’t seen the current drift of the debate, you aren’t paying close attention. The elements of the deal might be something like this: 1) continue to remove restrictions on nuclear power as a future source of household energy; 2) raise taxes on motor fuels by a significant amount, fully offset by reductions in other taxes (state sales or income taxes would be my preference, as I’d prefer state rather than federal action here), which would discourage fossil fuel use; 3) spend the tax proceeds on improving highways and bridges, thus alleviating the nation’s worsening congestion (which has a cost in air quality), and funding some new research into alternative energies; and 4) change state and local land-use regulations to allow more mixed-use developments that reduce the length of work commutes and make non-auto travel at least a little more likely.
The alternatives are worse. Much worse.