What do you call it when the same people who screech about carbon emissions and climate change oppose clean, efficient, carbon-free nuclear energy? Is this hypocrisy? Ignorance? Both?
Representative Jeff Duncan (R-SC) has introduced H.R.6544 - Atomic Energy Advancement Act, which is co-sponsored by a Democrat, Diana DeGette (D-CO), who, while not the farthest left in the Democratic Party, is certainly no Zell Miller-like Blue Dog. This is a bipartisan bill, and one intended to facilitate the development of nuclear power plants in the United States. The bill lists as its purpose:
To advance the benefits of nuclear energy by enabling efficient, timely, and predictable licensing, regulation, and deployment of nuclear energy technologies, and for other purposes.
Sounds like a worthy idea, right? Enter, predictably, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), of the notorious Squad, who has never seen a good idea that she didn't oppose. She and several of her Squadmates are opposing this bill.
Because of course, they are.
Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who formerly sponsored and aggressively pushed for a massive Green New Deal package in 2019, voted against the legislation. Ocasio-Cortez has described climate change as a “disastrous climate crisis” and encouraged climate activists marching in New York City in September 2023 to make their movement “too big and too radical to ignore.”
Democratic Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost, the youngest member of Congress, joined fellow progressive Ocasio-Cortez as a “nay” vote against the bill. Frost has called for governmental action in response to “the climate crisis,” which he believes to be “the most dangerous existential problem we face.”
Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna also voted against the bill. Khanna attended fundraising event for a disruptive climate activist group that has targeted some of his congressional colleagues, and has called on the Biden administration to declare a “climate emergency” to unlock wartime presidential powers to counter the “climate crisis.”
Note the juxtaposition there: They oppose nuclear power while proclaiming the "climate crisis" to be the most dangerous problem mankind faces.
There is hope: Fewer and fewer people among the upcoming generation seem to be worried about this issue, although leftist politicians seem to be more than willing to neglect very real problems — like, say, rising crime rates — to worry about "climate change."
See Related: Young People Don't Actually Give a Damn About Climate Change, Poll Finds
Crime-Riddled Chicago Finally Takes Action...by Filing 'Climate Deception' Lawsuits Against Big Oil
A list of other Democrats who voted against support for nuclear power reads like a Who's Who of the far left: Cori Bush (D-MO), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD.)
There isn't any explaining reality to these people.
The reality about energy, especially the generation of electricity, is that it's all about energy density. Every major advance in technology and quality of life in human history has come with advances in energy density. The use of coal replaced the use of wood and charcoal in industry and home cooking/heating use because of increased energy density; coal was replaced by fuel oil and natural gas for the same reason. In each step, not only has energy density increased, but the use of the replacement method was, yes, cleaner.
Nuclear energy is, at present, the most energy-dense method we have of generating electricity. The methods championed by The Squad and other leftists, including solar and wind power, represent significant steps backward in energy density; we simply can't rely on those methods to maintain our current, high-tech lifestyle.
Energy density is like the miles-per-gallon rating of a power plant. It measures how much energy is released (in megajoules) given a certain mass of fuel (in kilograms). Perhaps the most physically unique thing about nuclear power is that the energy density of nuclear fuel is about 2 million times higher than that of any chemical (like fossil fuel, biofuel, or batteries).
Nuclear energy, therefore, represents the greatest increase in energy density in history. The Squad wants us to forgo this for low-energy density solar and wind power — and in so doing, effectively sacrifice our modern lifestyle, which is dependent — utterly dependent — on abundant, cheap, and, yes, clean energy.
Feature or bug?
And as for the "climate crisis," as I keep repeating and will keep repeating: I'll start believing there's a climate crisis when the people who keep telling me there's a climate crisis start acting like there's a climate crisis.
