Excited to finally announce the launch of my new organization, the Campaign for a Green Nuclear Deal! https://link.medium.com/OJQb1MLIsbb 

What does it mean to be American? Few of us seem sure, and those who do can rarely agree.

But we all seem to feel that our future is more uncertain than ever.

Inequality is the highest it’s been in over fifty years.

The loss of manufacturing and rise of the gig economy has left Americans with insecure, low-wage jobs.

And investments in strategic sectors elsewhere in the world have left American industries with outdated equipment, capabilities, and attitudes.

These are nation-scale problems that will require Americans to set aside their differences and find common ground.

As was the case at the founding of our country, how we face our common challenges will define what it means to be American.

We need a vision that transcends partisan politics and rebuilds America from the bottom up.

That vision is the Green Nuclear Deal.

The Green Nuclear Deal is a plan for growing nuclear energy to create dignified, high-wage jobs, revive American manufacturing capability, and reestablish ourselves as the global leaders of this critical technology.

The construction and operation of nuclear power plants create more jobs than any other type of energy production.

And due to the complexity and longevity of nuclear plants, they are high-wage, high-skill jobs that last for generations.

Building reactors will revitalize America’s manufacturing base and heavy industry capabilities.

The cheap, abundant electricity these plants produce can enable the growth of further industry, creating even more jobs and pulling up wages across the entire economy.

Nuclear power is the most powerful weapon we have in the fight against climate change.

It’s the only clean source of energy able to replace fossil fuels. Unlike solar and wind, nuclear can produce lots of electricity reliably year-round, regardless of time of day or season.

Only nuclear has been proven capable of being scaled up at climate-relevant speeds in major industrialized economies.

And nuclear’s ability to reduce emissions extends beyond the electricity sector.

Other countries already use nuclear for district heating, generating high-temperature industrial heat, and producing ammonia for fertilizer to decarbonize agriculture.

Nuclear’s environmental benefits don’t stop at air pollution and emissions reductions. Uranium is energy-dense, meaning that very little is required to produce a lot of electricity.

A soda can’s worth could provide all of the energy needed to power the average American's life!

As such, nuclear requires far fewer materials and less land than other generation technologies. This means more land can be set aside for conservation.

Nuclear energy was born in America. The Atoms For Peace program was designed to share U.S. nuclear technology and expertise and electrify power-starved parts of the world.

Today the U.S. is allowing China and Russia to dominate nuclear plant construction abroad and closing its nuclear plants at home.

More than thirty countries are considering, planning, or starting nuclear power programs.

It is in the United States’ best interest to re-establish ourselves as a leader of this critical technology and compete to win the business of emergent nuclear countries.

In the middle of a crisis that demands society-scale action and coordination, a new economic strategy of reindustrialization that builds America’s clean energy economy is more possible than ever.

The time for action is now.

That is why I’m launching @Campaign_GND.

Our nation-wide advocacy effort will articulate a vision for nuclear as the industrial heart of sustainable and enduring American prosperity.

The Green Nuclear Deal’s target — to grow the share of U.S. electricity from nuclear power to 50% by 2050 — is achievable, but only if we take decisive action.

First, we need to re-start the construction of the two new reactors at the V.C. Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina with the same construction workers building the new Vogtle reactors in Georgia.

The team of men and women building Vogtle 3 and 4 is America’s most valuable industrial asset.

The experience they have gained through blood, sweat, and tears will be squandered if we do not seize the advantages of Vogtle’s impending completion.

Second, we need to invest in American forging to ensure the domestic industry can meet demand from new nuclear power projects.

No steel producer operating in the U.S. is capable of delivering the large forgings necessary for our AP1000 reactors.

We should not be reliant on Japan, Russia, China, or other countries with competitive suppliers for our nuclear power plants.

Right now, there is not enough demand for these large components to justify the cost of investment to upgrade American forging capabilities.

A national commitment to nuclear and plan to build additional AP1000s at existing nuclear sites quickly changes that calculation.

Third, we need to protect the operating nuclear plants at-risk due to politics or market failure from premature closure.

From Diablo Canyon in California to Indian Point in New York, states are closing nuclear plants that could continue operating for decades. That needs to stop.

Fourth, we need to work with nations seeking to develop nuclear power in order to begin exporting proven American reactors, technology, and expertise.

If we are investing in our nuclear industry and not selling abroad, we are leaving money on the table and depriving entrant countries of a competitive partner in the West.

Once we have a thriving industry, we should accelerate the development, demonstration, and deployment of advanced nuclear technologies.

These technologies can improve upon the already impeccable operation of existing reactors while delivering additional benefits such as industrial heat and recycling spent fuel.

America has always risen to meet the challenges before it.

Now is no different.

If we invest in our capabilities to tackle climate change, then our children and grandchildren will inherit a country and a world that are more stable, prosperous, more hopeful than they are today.

Embarking on the Green Nuclear Deal will mean the future will be made in America