Insight, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s monthly pro-nukes pamphleteer, did a survey of the presidential candidates positions on nuclear power. The only one that’s explicitly against more nuclear power plants is John Edwards. Fred Thompson managed to answer the question without really answering the question. They panned Dennis Kucinich, but for the record, in an interview with Grist’s Amanda Griscom Little, he said, “Nuclear has to be phased out. The hidden costs of nuclear are enormous — of building these plants and storing the waste forever. It’s not financially or environmentally sustainable.”
Here are the quotes NEI printed:
Hillary Clinton: “When it comes to nuclear power, I’m an agnostic. We’ve got two big problems: What to do with waste? And how do we afford to build and maintain nuclear power plants? If we can deal with those two big question marks, I’m not against it.”
John Edwards: “Wind, solar, cellulose-based biofuels are the way we need to go. I do not favor nuclear power…..It is extremely costly…and we still don’t have a safe way to dispose of the nuclear waste.”