The Only Candidate to Call for Decommissioning San Onofre Nuclear Plant

By David W. Steinman, Green Party candidate Congress 33rd District

We don’t need nuclear power and we can create more jobs without it.  Yes, that’s right.  We have abundant real energy here.  It is nonpolluting, and it is job creating.

A congressional representative has to see things as they are but also have a vision for how things can be.   As a businessman, environmental advocate, and parent of three young children, I am vitally concerned about our future. 

That is why when I am elected I’ll also work on a job creation plan that also promotes energy independence and secure future.

I am the only candidate actively advocating decommissioning the San Onofre nuclear plant, just some 80 miles south of our community.  You might not think this affects your life here but it does in many ways.

First of all, as you may have heard in the news, the plant has been leaking radiation.  Now while this might be a small amount to some, I don’t believe it is insignificant.  When I wrote The Breast Cancer Prevention Bible with my colleague Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, we noted that there are important studies showing that low levels of radiation are linked with cancer in nearby communities. 

But there is more to this story. 

We saw what happened in Fukushima, Japan, with the earthquake and tsunami.  We know that whether in our generation or the next , our region will most likely experience a very large earthquake.  We know this and we can’t bury our heads in the sand on this one. 

Despite the best assurances of the operators of San Onofre, if there is a large earthquake, the damage to the plant could be far more significant than they predict.  Whether there is a small or large release of radiation, we would experience devastating environmental, health and economic damage, whether real or perceived.

I think we should learn from what happened at Fukushima and begin the process of taking San Onofre offline—but, unfortunately, I’m the only candidate out in front on this issue.  (Perhaps this is because I am the only candidate with three young children, a business, home and property here—and I have to look out for everyone, like a good father should, to make sure things work now and for the future.)

So where will get our power?  Well, as the plant goes offline, we be tapping our vast renewable geothermal resources that lay beneath the Salton Sea.  Geothermal is safe, nonpolluting and extremely efficient.  It can also drive turbines, quite well, indeed.

I’ll work with property owners and environmental groups to ensure that a smart grid is built from this region to the Los Angeles region, to bring clean, renewable energy to our coummunity, and creating tens of thousands new jobs, as well as energy independence, freedom from fossil fuels and nuclear, and putting more money into our local economy.  It’s definitely a win-win for everyone.

As a businessman who depends on a vital economy and as an environmental advocate, I think we can have the best of both worlds—but only when we have someone in office like me with the experience necessary to produce real results—and with a vision for how things can be in our beautiful community.

David W. Steinman is the author of Diet for a Poisoned Planet, The Safe Shopper’s Bible and Safe Trip to Eden.  He represented the public interest at the National Academy of Sciences and is CEO and founder of The Freedom Press, publisher of the national health publication Healthy Living.  

www.Steinman2012.com

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