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Gov. Rick Perry is calling for doubling the number of nuclear reactors in Texas. Luminant, formerly TXU Corp., in proposing two new reactors at its Comanche Peak nuclear plant southwest of Dallas. Exelon Corp. wants to add two reactors in Victoria County in Southeast Texas.
Both the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say a surge toward nuclear to meet the country's energy needs and curb global warming is unwise. Clean Water Action agrees.
Nuclear power is not the answer to global warming:
Texas' dependence on fossil fuels and nuclear power is an economic burden on its citizens and a threat to public health. As our population increases, we must prioritize clean energy and energy efficiency to protect public health and the environment, keep electricity affordable and bring jobs to Texas.
Coal-burning power plants are the largest industrial source of mercury emissions in the United States, and ten percent of these emissions come from plants in Texas - more than any other state. Five of the nation's top ten emitters of mercury are in the Lone Star State.
When mercury is released into the air, it settles in rivers, lakes, and streams. Bacteria in the water convert it to methyl mercury, a very toxic form of mercury. The toxic mercury bioaccumulates in the bodies of animals. Eating contaminated fish is the main way people are exposed to unsafe levels of mercury. Unlike with some other toxins, there is no way to clean or cook mercury out of fish.
We are working in local communities and at the state level on behalf of sustainable water policies that protect drinking water at its source, preserve wetlands and aquifer recharge zones, and conserve water for the future. We are working to persuade policy makers to prioritize conservation above expensive new reservoirs and treatment plants—a policy that would also save the energy needed to treat and distribute this water.
With the threat of global warming and fossil fuel prices rising, nuclear power is being hailed once again as a solution to future energy needs. In September 2007, NRG Energy filed for a construction and operation license for two new nuclear reactors at the South Texas Project near Bay City, and since then four additional nuclear plants have been proposed.
When people think of Texas, they typically conjure up images of cattle ranches and oil rigs. They might also think of pollution from coal plants, since Texas leads the nation in greenhouse gas emissions from these sources. But Texas also leads the nation in energy from wind turbines, and is among the leaders in potential energy from solar power. In Texas as elsewhere, a major debate is under way on future energy policy. With your help, Clean Water Action can persuade our leaders to wean us off of our addiction to fossil fuels and take aggressive action to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy programs instead.
The Texas Department of Health has issued fish consumption advisories for over 329,000 acres of lakes and rivers in Texas, including the entire Gulf of Mexico. Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that causes learning and developmental disabilities in children. Ten percent of all mercury released into the air in the U.S. comes from coal-burning power plants in Texas. The Texas Legislature failed to take meaningful action on mercury last session, and Clean Water Action and our allies are gearing up to make this a major issue in the upcoming legislative session.
