nuclear power

On parliament's last day before its summer break, the British government publicly released thirty ministerial statements, including one listing the salaries of "special advisers," one detailing the siting criteria for new nuclear power stations and another detailing the guests entertained at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's official residence, Chequers. The document dump was dubbed by some as "take out the trash day," after an episode of the fictional television series on the White House, the West Wing. Mike Granatt, a former head of the British government's Government Information and Communications Service and now a partner in the PR firm Luther Pendragon, explained to PR Week, "You shove everything out on one day and you hope the volume of it means there's only a certain amount of room in the papers and on TV and radio, so that squeezes it. And, secondly, you take the hit at once."

Both the Democratic and Republican conventions are bringing in millions of dollars in corporate sponsors, but there is no reporting requirement for either the political parties or the companies. There are a reported 146 organizational and corporate donors, but less than a quarter have chosen to disclose information about their donations. Some of the lead donors are telecom companies that just weeks ago received retroactive immunity from Congress for participation in the Bush spy program. AT&T is such a large scale donor that their logo is placed prominently on the attendees' welcome bags. Other identified donors include Motorola, Coca-Cola, Google, Qwest Communications, Comcast, and nuclear energy giant Xcel Energy. Stephen Weissman of the Campaign Finance Institute, explained that "to have that speech come off well, to have the lighting and the rigging and all of the sound and the Broadway producers who do it, to have the production and the setting look just right, to have specially built podiums and so forth, that will earn gratitude."

Asked why people like Patrick Moore and Stewart Brand, who made their name as environmentalists are now nuclear power advocates, the highly regarded energy efficiency analyst Amory Lovins was blunt: "I think they haven't done their homework. And I keep asking for their analysis and not getting it, because I don't think they have one." Nuclear power, he argues, is no solution to global warming. "If you buy more nuclear plants, you're going to get about two to ten times less climate solution per dollar, and you'll get it about twenty to forty times slower" than efficient use of electricity, renewables and micropower, he said. Lovins is also dismissive of claims that a "nuclear renaissance" is sweeping the world. "It's a very carefully fabricated illusion. And the reason it isn't happening is there are no buyers. That is, Wall Street is not putting a penny of private capital into the industry, despite 100-plus percent subsidies," he told Amy Goodman.

Former George W. Bush adviser Karen Hughes wrote in an introductory email to her new colleagues at the global PR firm Burson-Marsetller about how "excited" she was to join B-M and "become a 'Burson person!'" Hughes explained in her email that "today's leaders in business and government face the challenge of thinking globally and acting locally, developing broad umbrella themes that shape perceptions of their industry, brand or product, while also customizing those messages for many different customers and cultures." Hughes failed dismally to reverse America's poor global reputation in the aftermath of the Iraq invasion in her role as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Despite her track record, Hughes is upbeat about the prospect of "advocating on behalf of our clients". Last week the Wall Street Journal reported (sub req'd) that Hughes "is expected to bring in a chunk of new business, headed up by Republican-leaning chief executives who know her from her political life" and will "focus on issues from energy to health care."

Two years ago, an editorial in the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) referred to the dream run that Patrick Moore and Christine Todd Whitman were getting in the media representing the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition. CJR noted that few journalists were disclosing that the group was created by the Nuclear Energy Institute with assistance from Hill & Knowlton. "Part of the thinking, surely, was that the press would peg them as dedicated environmentalists who have turned into pro-nuke cheerleaders, rather than as paid spokespeople. And the press came through." They still do. Jay Hancock, a business columnist for the Baltimore Sun, wrote in his blog that "Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore has decided that the risks of nuclear energy are lower than the risks of continuing to use carbon energy." Hancock is not the only journalist not to disclose Moore's nuclear industry ties to his readers. The week before his post, a CanWest News Service story simply described Moore as an "avid proponent of nuclear" power.

Nuclear advocates often point to France as a success story, with 80% of the country's electricity coming from nuclear power. But a recent leak at the Tricastin plant in Bollene, near Avignon, has raised concerns about health, safety, and transparency. The site houses both a nuclear reactor and a radioactive treatment plant. "Approximately 30 cubic metres of liquid containing unenriched uranium spilled from an overflowing reservoir at the Tricastin facility, which handles liquids contaminated by uranium, into the ground and into the Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers." The public was not warned of the breach until the day after it occurred, nor was the government notified in a timely fashion. The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) inspected the Tricastin plant after the leak and "found that existing prevention measures were deficient." Until more testing can be done, "People in nearby towns have been warned not to drink any water or eat fish from the rivers ... Officials have also cautioned people not to swim in the rivers or use their water to irrigate crops." An anti-nuclear non-governmental organization is planning legal action against the plant's operator, Societe Auxiliaire de Tricastin (Socatri), over its delay in informing the public.

Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we look at the nuclear industry's largesse, Merck's marketing and cigarettes for kids. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," how is secondhand smoke like an uncurbed dog? The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!

The nuclear power industry is seeing its fortunes rise. "Seventeen entities developing license applications for up to thirty-one new [nuclear] reactors did not just happen," boasted Frank "Skip" Bowman. "It has been carefully planned."

Bowman heads the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the main lobbying group for the industry. His remarks (PDF), at a February gathering of more than 100 Wall Street analysts, were part of a presentation on "reasoned expectations for new nuclear plant construction."

Bowman knew it was important to impress his audience of wary potential investors. "We are where we are today because this industry started many years ago on a systematic program to identify what went wrong the last time," he said, "and develop ways to eliminate or manage those risks."

Aerial view of Yucca Mountain"The State of Nevada faces almost a billion dollar budget shortfall," reports Edward Lawrence. "The Nuclear Energy Institute says there is a solution ... but it comes with one very large string attached" -- that the state end opposition to the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. "In exchange for dropping any objection to shipping the waste here, [NEI's Paul] Seidler says Nevada can get access to the nuclear waste fund." That fund, which is administered by the U.S. Department of Energy, has a balance of "more than $20 billion." An Energy Department spokesperson agreed that "even though a benefit package clause in the original Nuclear Waste Act expired, nothing prevents the state from starting a negotiation that could be worth $1 billion a year." But Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons said he would "not sell away the safety of the state to the Yucca Mountain proponents." In related news, the law firm "awarded a four-year $47.7 million contract to shepherd the licensing for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, has acknowledged conflicts of interest," reports ABC. The firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, is "seeking damage payments from the government" for its utility clients, on nuclear waste issues, and has also lobbied for NEI.

Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we look at the spin around same-sex marriage, Christine Todd Whitman's job pitch and how Wikipedia threatens the PR industry. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," how are same-sex marriage opponents linked to Iraq war proponents? The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!