skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, May 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Dow soars 1,000 points after Trump team and China dramatically lower tariffs; Alabama lawmakers send grocery tax cut bill to governor; Probation, supervision after incarceration comes with a catch in NC; How immigrants can protect themselves and their data at the border.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Pentagon begins removing transgender troops as legal battles continue. Congress works to fix a SNAP job-training penalty. Advocates raise concerns over immigrant data searches, and U.S. officials report progress in trade talks with China.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Volunteers with AmeriCorps are reeling from near elimination of the 30-year-old program, Head Start has dodged demise but funding cuts are likely, moms are the most vulnerable when extreme weather hits, and in California, bullfrogs await their 15-minutes of fame.

Critics: Nuclear Not Needed in Snake River Replacement Plan

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 24, 2021   

BOISE, Idaho -- Nuclear energy could be part of the mix to replace power from four lower Snake River dams if they're removed.

Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, has an extensive plan, which calls for removing the four dams to aid the ailing salmon populations of the Northwest.

Small, modular reactors to produce nuclear energy could play a role in replacing their hydropower.

Ian Cotten, energy program manager for the Snake River Alliance, said the proposal also touches on increasing renewable energy, transmission capacity and energy efficiency.

"Those are all things that really excite us, at the prospect of those becoming a bigger piece of our Northwest's energy infrastructure," Cotten remarked. "But as far as the role of small modular reactors goes with this plan, it really feels like, to us, it's a piece that doesn't quite fit with the rest of the puzzle."

The $33 billion plan includes $10 billion for energy replacement once the dams are removed.

Some environmental groups say nuclear power needs to be part of the energy makeup in order to decarbonize the economy in the coming decades.

Don Safer, co-chair of the Sierra Club Nuclear Free Campaign, said energy isn't the only product of the industry; it also produces radioactive waste.

"There's just this debit to the future that we're creating this material that we don't really know how to dispose of," Safer contended. "And the problems will become more and more pronounced as we go forward."

Simpson's Northwest infrastructure plan would modernize the region's energy sector, bringing more renewables online.

Safer noted the small modular-reactor design proposed for nuclear projects is still unproven technology, meaning the return on investment may not be as much as people assume.

"The small modular reactors are just not a good choice, especially in the West where you have plenty of solar, you have plenty of wind, and the money would be better spent developing better, cost-effective storage technology, which is coming," Safer asserted.

Simpson's plan could be included in a massive infrastructure package the Biden administration is putting together.

Disclosure: Snake River Alliance contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, and Nuclear Waste. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Many municipalities are now testing drinking water for PFAS but contamination is often widespread and difficult to remove. (show999/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A new study from Michigan State University researchers revealed lasting PFAS effects in a Michigan community's drinking water near an old paper mill l…


Environment

play sound

Supporters of the Campaign for Affordable Power are pressing state lawmakers to pass a series of reform bills aimed at big investor-owned utilities li…

Environment

play sound

An environmental group is voicing concern about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to tackle PFAS pollution. The EPA recently …


The Mayo Clinic reported most people born or living in the U.S. before 1957 are immune to measles because they've had the infection and can only get it once. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

At least two people have tested positive for measles in Illinois and public health officials are working to combat misinformation surrounding vaccines…

Social Issues

play sound

Keeping more renters in their homes is one goal of a new Utah initiative. The Utah Housing Coalition has formed a Landlord and Community Partners …

Two-thirds of Virginians who receive SNAP benefits have a child in the house, and 36% are in working families. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives could make it easier for people to get job training while they're receiving federal food assistance…

Social Issues

play sound

Fear, shame, and helplessness are feelings Minnesota fraud victims describe after losing their life savings to a scam. They're hopeful about a path …

Social Issues

play sound

The Pentagon will begin removing transgender troops from the military after the Supreme Court ruled last week that a ban could be enforced as lawsuits…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021