In the midst of Republican in-fighting in the presidential primaries and the Tea (Party)-infused stance of ‘obstruct Obama at all costs’, there is one curious issue on which Dems and Pubs seem to be united: nuclear energy.
It’s apparently the big reason there isn’t more media attention to this issue. Predominantly, neither side of the aisle has a need to stir this one up — maybe it has something to do with the strong ties so many of them have to big oil? But it’s one thing not to champion an issue; what’s going on when the Federal government actively restricts a state’s decision not to mess around with nuclear power anymore?
Last Thursday, a federal judge blocked Vermont from forcing the closure of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant when its license expires in March. According to Democracy Now!:
The Vermont Senate voted to deny the company a new operating license in 2010, but the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission extended the plant’s license, in the days following last year’s Fukushima nuclear crisis. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha overruled Vermont’s effort, saying only federal authorities can regulate nuclear safety. The Vermont Yankee plant is one of the oldest in the country and has had a series of radioactive tritium leaks. Vermont officials are expected to appeal the ruling.