Letter to One Corps – John Edwards's campaign team

As some of you know, I am of the belief that nuclear energy should be a non partisan issue that is able to gain support from both American political parties. It has benefits for both conservatives and liberals alike, though it also has characteristics that will anger people from all political points of view since it disrupts the established energy industry.

A while ago, I signed up to be on a mailing list for John Edwards One Corps, a group that is working to spread his message. So far, Edwards has expressed a negative position on nuclear energy, though he is deeply concerned about energy independence and global climate change. Those positions are not compatible, so I decided to help Mr. Edwards and his team to see the light and make some early course corrections. Please, if this effort works, do not accuse Mr. Edwards of flip-flopping. It is truly a stupid person who cannot change his mind in the face of new information and I certainly do not want the American public to ever elect a stupid President.

Here is the letter from One Corps that preceded my response letter:

John Edwards One Corps Members,

Wondering how Global Warming Action Month went? Here’s what Amy from Apex, NC had to say:

Wow! What a huge success…It’s really inspiring to see so many stepping up across the nation. For the first part of National Global Warming Month, Wake County One Corps attended the Step It Up rally. For the second part, our chapter held the Reduce Your Carbon event in conjunction with our county party convention. There were a lot of people very interested in Edwards’ energy plan and a number of people signed up to volunteer for the campaign.

You can see pictures and reports from events around the country at our blog:

http://johnedwards.com/r/11216/808592/

This past weekend, we surpassed our goal and collected enough pledges at local events to save over one million pounds of carbon in the coming year. But we can’t stop there. Please continue to take action online and invite all your friends and family to do the same by visiting our site: www.ReduceYourCarbon.com

In the coming days, we’ll kick off our next National Day of Action which will focus on ending poverty.

In the meantime, please tell everyone you know about John Edwards’ unique campaign to change America so we can continue to expand and strengthen our efforts in the months to come. Together – as One Corps – we can help build the one America we all believe in.

Thank you for taking action,

-George Stern
National One Corps Director

Here is my letter in response. I stated in the letter that I would be posting it here since I was not sure if a response to the email address that originated the mailing would work and achieve the information sharing that I desired.

Dear One Corps:

I really like most of what John Edwards says, His values are spot on and the issues that he wants to tackle are the important issues that affect the lives of most Americans.

What I cannot understand is why Mr. Edwards has misunderstood the importance of nuclear power. As a former nuclear submarine engineer officer, I can attest to its safety, its ability to produce massive quantities of power without any air pollution at all, and the fact that a very small amount of fuel can last for decades even when pushing a 9000 ton submarine around the ocean.

When it comes to the left overs, the story is even better. The amount of material left over on my submarine after supplying energy for 15 years could fit under my office desk. Some of that material is quite valuable and can be recovered with well understood recycling techniques.

The fossil fuel industry has done a marvelous job of selling its own products by contributing resources to groups that have worked hard to make people afraid of nuclear energy.

Please help me to reach Mr. Edwards ear. I will do whatever I can to supply the information he needs so that he can make a better choice for America by allowing us to regain the world leadership in an industry that has been one of the world’s most important industries since the beginning of the Industrial Age. I am not talking about just taking the lead in nuclear energy again, but leading the entire energy industry through the widespread, intelligent use of nuclear power for ships, electrical power and perhaps even trains and planes.

Best regards,

Rod Adams
Editor, Atomic Insights (http://www.atomicinsights.blogspot.com)