Corporate Media "Lie to Us About Nuclear Power"

[Go2Peace]

Corporate Media Are Using Industry Talking Points to Lie to Us About Nuclear Power
http://www.alternet.org/media/145792/corporate_media_are_using_industry_talking_points_to_lie_to_us_about_nuclear_power?page=entire

"Flash forward two decades -- to Barack Obama's announcement of billions of dollars in new loan guarantees for a supposedly new generation of nuclear power plants. (This despite the fact that nuclear reactors have already received more preferential treatment than any other source of electricity and that investments in nuclear plants are deemed too risky by private industry. Obama's new budget dedicates more than $50 billion to nuclear loan guarantees -- which means that we taxpayers could be left on the hook for a massive bailout… and that the companies ready to profit from new reactors, including NBC parent General Electric, are some of the wealthiest corporations in the country.)

Once again government and industry shills are ignoring reality and lying to us -- and once again the media is aiding and abetting them, as detailed in this Action Alert from the ever-estimable Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).

Entitled "Network Nukes Boosters," the FAIR report critiques "incomplete and unbalanced reports" by ABC World News and NBC Nightly News following Obama's recent announcement of $8 billion in new loan guarantees for a nuclear power plant in Georgia.

ABC's Jake Tapper stressed industry claims about job creation for this new plant ("3,500 on-site construction jobs and 800 permanent operations jobs") and the amount of energy the plant will generate -- enough "for 550,000 homes, 2,200 megawatts worth of electricity that would offset about 30 million barrels of oil." Tapper barely mentioned nuclear opponents in his piece, but managed to squeeze in quotes from two anonymous Georgia residents saying their town needs the jobs, as well as one from nuclear industry lobbyist Patrick Moore, introducing him with his past credentials: "Back then, he was an anti-nuclear power activist and a founder of Greenpeace. Today, he lobbies for nuclear energy." After Moore claimed that "nuclear industry is generally one of the safest industries we have," Tapper concluded that "he's not the only one who's changed his mind." (Moore's former Greenpeace ties make him a media favorite, but he wasn't actually a founder, just an early activist and it's worth noting that, as PR Watch pointed out, "Moore has now spent more time working as a PR consultant to the logging, mining, biotech, nuclear and other industries…than he did as an environmental activist.")

The NBC report wasn't much better: three sources were quoted supporting the nuclear plan, but only one critic. As FAIR noted,

" In attempting to discuss safety concerns, NBC mentioned Chernobyl and the 1979 partial meltdown at Three Mile Island (Extra!, 7-8/93). Neither network mentioned the current problems with nuclear reactors; the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, for example, is leaking radioactive tritium into the groundwater, a safety hazard that is being documented at other nuclear sites around the country (Associated Press, 2/2/10; Greenpeace Blog, 1/28/10).

NBC also has bigger issues: its parent company General Electric is a major player in the industry, and has done business with the company planning to build the Georgia plant (southerncompany.com)--a major fact NBC neglected to mention in its report.

While both reports mentioned that the Georgia plant would be the first built in the U.S. in three decades, neither gave much of an explanation as to why this would be the case. But as nuclear power critics have documented for years, the plants have proven to be financial disasters, with severe cost overruns and a general reluctance among investors to foot the bill for projects that are unlikely to be profitable (Greenpeace, 10/15/08). Obama's pledge of multi-billion dollar loan guarantees should have caused reporters to wonder why the industry, after decades of experience, needs so much government assistance in the first place."

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Damn those lying nuclear bastards at GE!

"NBC also has bigger issues: its parent company General Electric is a major player in the (nuclear) industry ... a major fact NBC neglected to mention in its report."

Wind Energy at GE
http://www.gepower.com/businesses/ge_wind_energy/en/index.htm">Primary Activities



GE is one of the world's leading wind turbine suppliers. With over 13,500 wind turbine installations worldwide comprising more than 218 million operating hours and 127,000 GWh of energy produced, our knowledge and expertise spans more than two decades. With wind manufacturing and assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, China, Canada and the United States, our current product portfolio includes wind turbines with rated capacities ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 megawatts and support services ranging from development assistance to operation and maintenance.

--d!

[madokie]

2. Not surprising as mis information is the Nuclear Industries MO

They know that if we knew the truth we'd never let one be built so they lie to us and have from day one.