SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 38

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

INTRODUCED BY

William E. Sharer

A JOINT MEMORIAL

DECLARING ENERGY PRODUCED BY NUCLEAR POWER AS GREEN ENERGY.

     WHEREAS, nuclear energy is dependable, affordable and environmentally sound; and

     WHEREAS, the American nuclear society believes that one of the most effective ways to reduce global carbon-dioxide emissions in the future is by making increasing use of nuclear energy to replace fossil fuels; and

     WHEREAS, in an article in the April 2002 issue of Nuclear News, former federal secretary of energy, Spencer Abraham, stated that "nuclear power is a vital part of the nation's electricity supply; it has played a major role in supplying electricity in the United States for over three decades"; and

     WHEREAS, according to Larry R. Foulk, former president of the American nuclear society, nuclear-generated electricity is among the cheapest electricity available today and is needed to meet the nation's increasing electricity demand; and

     WHEREAS, today, many people believe that worldwide pollution is environmentally unacceptable and that the rising cost of oil and gas will soon be unacceptable as well; and

      WHEREAS, the energy from nuclear fission is essentially inexhaustible, just as is the energy from sources traditionally considered as renewable; and

     WHEREAS, other energy technologies with low-carbon-dioxide emissions, such as wind and solar energy, have a limited capacity and produce energy intermittently, requiring backup power generators or storage facilities; and

     WHEREAS, nuclear energy is the nation's largest and only expandable source of continuously generated electricity with near-zero emissions; and

     WHEREAS, nuclear reactors emit no greenhouse gases during operation and require less land use than most other forms of energy; and

     WHEREAS, in the long term, nuclear power can directly reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil by producing hydrogen for fuel cells and by producing synthetic, liquid fuels to power trains, subway cars and automobiles; and

     WHEREAS, according to Peter Huber, author of The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy, the economy is increasingly using energy in the form of electricity, stating that more than ninety percent of the growth in energy demand since 1980 has been met by electricity; and

     WHEREAS, the American nuclear society estimates that over the next twenty years, the United States will need four hundred thousand megawatts of new, continuously generated electric generating capacity to meet the new electricity demand; and

     WHEREAS, the American nuclear society believes that the process of licensing new nuclear power plants can be both predictable and timely, while still being thorough enough that the federal nuclear regulatory commission can effectively discharge its mandate to protect public health and safety; and

     WHEREAS, a goal of the federal department of energy's nuclear power 2010 program is to build momentum toward a "nuclear renaissance" in which nuclear plants are effective options for zero-carbon electricity production; and

     WHEREAS, nuclear energy could be the dominant source of clean energy of the future;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that energy produced by nuclear power be recognized as green energy in New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the energy, minerals and natural resources department be urged to include nuclear power as a green initiative under the top ten energy solutions for the state; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department of environment acknowledge that nuclear energy is a clean and efficient source of energy that can conserve resources and protect the environment; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of energy, minerals and natural resources, the secretary of environment and the governor.

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