Here’s the latest from the crossroads of faith, media & culture: 08/31/22

Russian President Vladimir Putin and California Governor Gavin Newsom are both seriously increasing the potential for nuclear catastrophe. That’s according to Harvey Wasserman, the alarmingly prescient author and anti-nuclear activist Harvey Wasserman,  the alarmingly prescient author and anti-nuclear “prophet of horror” I first  spoke with in March. He now says Newsom’s support of a controversial Golden State nuclear power plant is a major ecological concern right up there with nuclear nightmare currently unfolding as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

JWK: So, last time we spoke, you were very worried that Russia’s invasion Ukraine could lead to a potential nuclear nightmare. And, I must say, no sooner had we talked than did the dangers you spoke of begin to become very apparent in the headlines. What do you want to talk about today?

Harvey Wasserman: We have Gavin Newsom, whose obviously a major candidate for president now, who’s simultaneously pushing nuclear power and fighting solar energy. It’s truly astounding. It’s totally turning the State of California upside down. That’s the biggest issue in the state as well as the country. He is clearly one of the major likely candidates for president.

JWK: So, tell me more. What’s he doing?

HW: We have these two reactors at Diablo Canyon which are in the middle of the state. They’re on the ocean and they’re surrounded by earthquake faults. 10,000 people were arrested there from the sixties through the eighties trying to stop these reactors. So, (from) 2014 to 2016 there were two years of major consultations between the union, the companies, the state (and) the environmental groups. They came up in 2016 with a plan to phase these two reactors out. That was six years ago. They’ve been working on this phase out proceeding as if the two reactors will shut in ’24 and ’25. Now, Newsom is trying to reverse that and keep the reactors open.  At the same time, he’s pushing regulations in front of Public Utilities Commission that would tax rooftop solar and make it much more difficult (to install them) on your rooftop.

JWK: So, the Federal Government is subsidizing the solar panels while Newsom is pushing to tax them.

HW: The federal tax (benefit) has just been extended in the IRA – it’s a great bill – and he is (pushing) for a (state) tax. The irony is that a similar package was vetoed in Florida by Ron Desantis. So, you have the big right-wing guy who has protected solar and the big so-called environmentalist (who is doing the opposite).

JWK: One issue with solar panels is that China dominates the market.

HW: Look, solar panels were invented in the U.S. and because of Reagan, Bush and then Trump the whole industry got moved to China. We’re trying to move it back – and there are issues. The point is you don’t kill an industry that has 70,000 people in California working in renewable energy. There are only 1500  working working at the nuclear plant.

JWK: So, Newsom wants the tax money?

HW: No, it’s just a scam. The utilities are terrified of rooftop solar because it means that people can control their own power and they don’t need the utility company.

JWK: But isn’t it true that, at this present time, most of these solar panels – and the parts for them – are made in China?

HW: Yes but…meanwhile you have a have a huge industry of installers and sales people. I mean the solar industry in California is huge. 70,000 people in California are working in renewable energy. It’s one of the biggest industries in the state. The utility companies are pushing this tax because they know that the spread of rooftop solar puts them out of business. PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, these companies are terrified of rooftop solar.

On the one hand, they say they are working on a shortfall (and) we need the nuclear plant which is surrounded by earthquake faults. It’s absolutely insane. On the other hand, (they) want to tax solar. They’ve done it in Nevada. They put this tax on in Nevada. That killed the industry. It just really slammed it.

JWK: The last time we spoke it was also on the subject of the environmental dangers of nuclear power. Then you were concerned about the nuclear reactors in the Ukraine. What are you thoughts on that situation now?

HW: It’s a very complicated situation. There are six reactors there. The problem is you can’t disconnect them entirely because you have fuel pools that need a constant supply of energy to keep them cool. If we don’t keep those fuel pools cool they will blow up. There’s more radiation in the fuel pools than there is in the reactors themselves. So, it is a very complicated situation. God forbid one of those nukes gets hit with a shell – but, just as serious, is the loss of power. If you lose power from the outside – which you could, certainly in a situation like this – the fuel pools cannot sustain the circulation needed to keep them cool. If they overheat – as almost happened at Fukushima Unit 4 – we will have a catastrophe worse than Chernobyl. There’s more radiation in those spent fuel pools than there was in Chernobyl. It’s insane.

JWK: How do you see the nuclear issue playing out in the U.S.?

HW: The nuclear situation directly impacts Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom because Gavin Newsom is planning to run, obviously, as an environmentalist and he has deeply alienated – really pissed off! – a big part of the environmental movement here in California.

JWK: So, on this particular issue, you actually find yourself more aligned with Ron DeSantis than with Gavin Newsom.

HW: It’s ironic. I’ve met Gavin Newsom and I supported him. I went to a fundraiser where he was and all that. He was cordial and handsome and tall and all those things, you know, but he’s really stepping into it. I’m beyond furious.

JWK: Would you support him if he challenges President Biden?

HW: No, not anymore…They had an agreement here! There was…an agreement to shut these reactors! This is a big deal because you have 92 reactors left in the country and Diablo is center stage. It always has been. More people have been arrested a Diablo Canyon than at any other nuclear site – including me! I was arrested there in 1984. 10,000 people were arrested at Diablo.

Then in 2016 you had this deal which he signed! Gavin Newsom was Lieutenant Governor. He signed this agreement! And now he’s trying to revoke this agreement to shut these nuclear plants when at the same time they’re killing rooftop solar?!  It’s really, really twisted…We consider (the reactors at) Diablo Canyon to be equally dangerous (as) the ones in Ukraine.

John W. Kennedy is a writer, producer and media development consultant specializing in television and movie projects that uphold positive timeless values, including trust in God.