Our Campaigns
Introduction to the Climate Coalition
We are very concerned about the lack of progress the United States is making addressing our carbon emissions. This is very much a function of bickering between people about which source of clean energy they prefer! Rather than focusing on addressing emissions on a priority basis and then, after that, re-engineering energy, climate activists are largely arguing about the “means” and have lost their focus on the “ends” of the climate battle. This is totally self-defeating.
Our choices are rather limited. We have solar and wind power, which are intermittent energy sources that require a source of back-up power, since solar generates power about 20 to 25% of the time and wind about 30 to 40% of the time. Those leave gaps of 75-80% of demand and 60-70% of demand respectively, which gaps is currently provided by natural gas.
What is needed is to fill in that gap with a source of firm clean energy. Options include hydro, geothermal and nuclear power. Both hydro and geothermal energy could be used but these sources are limited to select geographies. Nuclear power, however, is a far more scalable source of clean energy and next generation designs will enable us to build nuclear wherever baseload power is needed. Unfortunately, a considerable number of environmentalists oppose nuclear. This has allowed a vast growth in the use of natural gas, which has been great for fossil fuel companies but it is terrible for our climate progress.
The Climate Coalition has been working to counter the narrative that nuclear power is highly dangerous—which does not reflect the actual data—and that natural gas is safe, which is demonstrably not true. Natural gas is a huge source of toxic emissions and a major contributor to climate change. Yet, for too long, the press only published anti-nuclear viewpoints. A very few antinuclear voices magnified the impression that no one supports nuclear when the opposite is true: nuclear power is far more popular and supported than it appears.
We urge you to join our coalition and demand rational decisions from our political leaders that includes nuclear power, so that we can solve climate change before it is too late. Accordingly, our goals are:
- Educate the public about the benefits of nuclear in dependence on fossil fuels
- Show the extent of public support for nuclear-inclusive climate solutions
- Build a climate coalition of activists who prioritize emissions reductions over the internecine fighting by those who want to exclude nuclear at ANY COST
- Defend at-risk nuclear power plants that are threatened by attacks from vested interests (those seeking to expand markets for their competing energy sources).
Thank you for reading our information, joining the coalition and lending your support to our campaigns. We need your help to get more rapid action on climate solutions that work! If you have any questions, please contact us here.
Campaign 1
Saving Michigan’s Palisades Nuclear Power Plant
Back in October, of 2021, Dr. Todd Allen, the Department Chair of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan and the Director of the Fastest Path to Zero Initiative, authored an OpEd titled Why closing Palisades nuclear plant is like sinking the lifeboats. Following the release on February 1, 2022, of a letter from 79 academic experts urging California Governor Newsom to reverse the decision to prematurely close Diablo Canyon, we drafted a similar letter to Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the entire slate of elected Michigan officials urging them to protect Palisades. We posted these letters and the campaign online and received more than 350 co-signers! See below for the key ways you can support this campaign to protect Palisades.
Campaign 2
Saving California’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
In February, a group of 79 leading scientists, academics and business leaders including former Secretary of Energy and Nobel Laureate, Dr. Steven Chu, Pulitzer Prize Laureate, Richard Rhodes and renowned climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, sent a Letter to Governor Newsom urging him to delay the closure of Diablo Canyon. The Climate Coalition posted the text of that letter online to give everyone an opportunity to sign their support of the letter. Soon after Gov. Whitmer announced Michigan’s plan to apply for CNC funding for Palisades, Governor Newsom announced his interest in exploring if CNC funds could to work to save Diablo Canyon. We issued a letter to thank Governor Newsom for his courage in opposing the “antinuclear” lobby (i.e. natural gas and other commercial business interests). We need to build more support to #SaveDiabloCanyon to prevent the California Public Utility Commission’s deceptive plan to replace the clean power from Diablo Canyon with dirty Coal Power from PacifiCorp and not include those emissions in California’s tally.
Campaign 3
Protect Nuclear NOW | Save any at-risk nuclear power plant
After President Biden took office in early 2021 with a commitment to act on climate, the Climate Coalition launched an initiative called Protect Nuclear NOW and sent a letter to President Biden and his Climate Council urging them to use the president’s Emergency Declaration powers to prevent Cuomo’s corrupt premature closure of Indian Point. While tragically this did not happen on time to save Indian Point, the president did work to get legislation passed that provided federal funds to support other nuclear power plants at risk of premature closure. These funds were quickly made available by the design of the Civil Nuclear Credit program by the DOE.
Campaign 4
Climate Détente Campaign
If you agree that it is important for climate activists to stop disagreeing about which clean energy solutions are best and to start working together, then please join our Climate Détente campaign! We must stop arguing over which source of clean energy is best and agree that they all can play a role in our clean energy transition—including nuclear energy—or we will not succeed in eliminating fossil fuels. If we can shift the paradigm, build a bigger and more effective coalition that includes both renewables and nuclear, progressives and conservatives, we can enable a more assured pathway towards a 100% clean energy economy. We need your help!