Roth: New flavor of the month: ‘Nuke, baby, nuke’

April 13, 2009 Last year a chorus of politicos was often heard chanting the phrase “Drill, baby, drill,” as a directive for greater production and use of America’s native oil and gas energy. At a time when America is struggling economically and strategically on a global scale, the chant rang clear for the important goal of energy independence and national security. That slogan represented a priority that rightly put America first.

But today, a chorus of a different tune by some leaders in Oklahoma seems counter-intuitive to our state’s best interests. Today, the chant of “Nuke, baby, nuke” is ringing in the halls of our state Capitol at a time when Oklahoma’s native blessings in natural gas and wind energy should be our focus.

Some Oklahoma politicians claim that nuclear energy needs to be considered as a part of that oft-repeated “all of the above” approach to energy, referring to oil, natural gas, coal, hydro and renewables.

To me, “all of the above” makes sense only if your state has “none of the above.” Why else would you advocate for the importation of other forms of energy, which will cause direct economic harm to our own commodities and native businesses? If “Drill, baby, drill” was designed to put America first, where does this pro-nuclear push put Oklahoma?

Are there government leaders in Florida working to drive down the price of oranges or leaders in Colorado encouraging ski trips to Vermont?

I know these are complicated times, and all forms of energy are important for our country’s sake. But our state is uniquely situated to be self-reliant if we work to make the most of our native energies and our own people. Today we provide almost 10 percent of America’s natural gas and almost 4 percent of its oil.

It is estimated that we can provide as much as 9 percent of our country’s total wind power.

On the other hand, nuclear energy development is filled with risk and uncertainty. Just look at the number of planned reactors wasting billions of dollars and many years stuck in the bureaucratic red tape of regulatory approval. The bill before the Oklahoma Legislature lets a utility go down this prolonged, uncertain path at ratepayer expense, whether or not a plant is ever built.

Shifting the burden of risk from a utility’s shareholders to the ratepayers does not make any risks go away. It simply sets up yet another situation (like AIG ) where profits are privatized while risks are socialized, allowing those who make bad decisions a pass from any financial accountability. After hundreds of billions of such outcomes this year alone, the public should have no stomach for more of this, especially when Oklahomans have better, cheaper, home-grown energy options.

Let’s not risk our state’s robust economic future by pushing variety for variety’s sake. Nuclear energy is costly, unpredictable and against Oklahoma’s best interests.

Instead, let’s all sing along: “Oklahoma baby, Oklahoma!”