The nuclear industry wanted 50 billion dollars in loan guarantees because not a single nuclear plant can be built in this country and be financed privately without a 100% taxpayer guarantee from Washington. Who says that? The Nuclear industry itself. We just picketed them in Washington a few weeks ago with signs about that.
And so what kind of industry is it that is so risky, so costly, so unpredictable, that it can't achieve financing and can't produce a nuclear plant unless you the taxpayer provide 100% loan guarantee? Wall Street won't loan it to them without--not a 90%--but a 100% loan guarantee. Did they get $50 billion? Well they got something in 2005 that almost no one but Harvey Wasserman [of Columbus Free Press] knew about. They got about $19 billion. Well, that will build maybe two--two nuclear plants. For heaven's sake, if you're going to have loan guarantees--build solar plants!
(Applause)
And now solar plants don't even need a loan guarantee! They are being privately financed and are burgeoning in California! So when you hear John McCain and Barack Obama say we need all kinds of energy--we need oil--to drill it; we need gas; we need coal-clean coal they say.
(Laughter)
We need solar. We need conservation...hey, it's a smörgåsbord! We need diverse nutrition--a little nuclear here, a little coal there!
(Laughter)
The key is--what is the best, fastest, cheapest, most environmentally and workplace-safe form of energy? That is saving energy. A barrel of oil you don't waste is a barrel of oil you don't have to produce because you have more fuel efficient cars. And solar--all kinds: wood powered, solar-thermal, solar architecture--stuff that's been around for 2000 years. You think solar is new?
The wind mills? How many hundreds of years have Dutch used windmills? Passive solar architecture? Ancient Persians, East Africans, and ancient Greeks used that. The only thing is, the fossil fuel industry doesn't like the sun. Because they can't embargo it, they can't carbon-tax it, and they can't eclipse it. And YOU can use the sun. Coal, oil, gas are highly centralized, very expensive capital expenditures. Who's going to be able to own and operate them? A few big companies. So it isn't that the technology isn't ready to go. It's that technology will displace the sales and eventually replace the fossil fuel industry, and they'll fight to the end to stop that. And right now, they're more powerful than Washington.
As far as the pending nuclear legislation, there's got to be something that says, "No more!" Block the 19 billion dollar loan guarantee. I think what we have to do is what we did in the 70s. How about a big, critical-mass workshop in Washington. You up for it? You see, it actually helped stop nuclear power in the 70s. We had a thousand people in twice and taught them how to stop nuclear power in their communities, and they became the leaders of their communities.
Isn't citizen action fun?
(Applause)
Question: Obama's candidacy and record?:
Nader: His voting is a matter of record. He voted for the credit card industry, voted for every military appropriation, voted every war appropriation--except for the last one when he and Hillary were competing, so he didn't vote for the last one. He has raised more corporate money than McCain by a large margin. He's raised more corporate lawyer money than John McCain. He's split now on off-shore drilling. I don't see him standing up for the small farmer. He's catered to agri-business. He's never met a weapons system he doesn't like. He's got a very mediocre record.
If you look at his agenda on his website, his idea of a living wage is $9.50 an hour by the year 2011. That means that by the year 2011, the minimum wage will have less in purchasing power than it was in 1968. He has no program against all the corporate crime that is ripping off consumers.
Question: What is it going to take to get you on the debate platform. Is it still a possibility? Is there anything anybody can do here today?
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