AAEA Attends Energy Policy Act of 2005 Bill Signing CeremonyAAEA President Norris McDonald was invited by the White House to attend the August 8, 2005 signing of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The signing ceremony was held in the Steve Schiff Auditorium in the Technology Transfer Center at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. White House guests were picked up by buses at Kirtland Air Force Base and taken to the historic event at Sandia. Norris McDonald and Senator Pete Domenici at the ceremonyPresident George W. Bush holds the box (above) containing the energy bill after signing H.R. 6, The Energy Policy Act of 2005. Also on stage from left are Congressman Ralph Hall (R, TX), Congressman Joe Barton (R, TX), Senator Pete Domenici (R, NM) and Senator Jeff Bingaman (D, NM). White House Photo by Eric DraperPresident Bush (below) delivers speech on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Energy Policy Act of 2005 Conference ReportHouse Conference Report Vote Senate Conference Report VoteEnergy Policy Act of 2005 – Summary President Bush Signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005Ener AAEA Attends White House Arrival Ceremony for Prime Minister of IndiaAAEA President Norris McDonald attended the White House Arrival Ceremony of Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India. The ceremony was on the South Lawn of the White House on July 18, 2005 and included greetings and remarks from President Bush and remarks from Prime Minister Manmohan. Other White House Officials at the ceremony included: Vice President Dick Cheney and Mrs. Cheney, the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense and the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, among others. A full Military Honor Guard and Musical Troop were included in the ceremony.President Bush agreed to share civilian nuclear technology with India in exchange for a promise from India to continue its unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing. Prime Minister Singh also told a joint session of Congress that India’s track record in nuclear nonproliferation is “impeccable.”Prime Minister Singh also discussed the new climate change proposal with President Bush during private meetings. The pact is known as the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Development and Climate and aims to use the latest technologies to limit emissions and to make sure the technologies are available in the areas and industries that need them most. The pact also includes China, Australia and South Korea, which account for approximately 40 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.AAEA Visits North Anna Nuclear PlantAAEA President Norris McDonald visited Dominion Resources’s North Anna nuclear power plant near Mineral, Virginia on April 11, 2005. He met with Richard Zuercher, Manager, Nuclear Public Affairs, Deborah U. Seay, Nuclear Information Center Representative and Michael F. Duffey, Coordinator, Nuclear Information Center. They provided excellent information about the operation of the current plant and the need for new generating capacity in Northern Virginia.Dominion Resources, Inc., a utility based in Richmond, Virginia applied for an early site permit in September 2003. Such a permit would provide the company with an option to build new nuclear generation at the North Anna Power Station. AAEA also attend the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) hearing on February 17 in Mineral Virginia on the draft environmental impact statement for Dominion’s Early Site Permi. Dominion is exploring the feasibility of building two new generating units at its current facility site.AAEA supports building two new nuclear units at the current location on North Anna Lake. For more information on what other utilities are doing, click on New Nuclear Power Plants.Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force ConferenceAAEA attended the 18th Annual New York State Assembly/Senate Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Conference in Albany, NY on April 15-17, 2005. The Environmental Injustice workshop was sponsored by Assemblyman Jose R. Peralta.Norris McDonald with Assemblyman PeraltaEnvironmental Radio Station — WRYR 97.5 FMAAEA President Norris McDonald was interviewed on the nation’s only environmental radio station, WRYR 97.5 FM in Sherwood, Maryland on April 9, 2005. It is a 100 watt station seveing the Eastern and Western Shores of the Mid-Chesapeake Bay Region. The radio station is operated by the South Arundel Citizens for Responsible Development (SACReD). WRYR-LP is operated at a grass roots level with a volunteer staff, much donated equipment, and funding contributed by businesses and individuals throughout the communities we serve. WRYR programming reflects the mission and goals of its parent organization, SACReD, and includes information on issues of local interest such as the environment and smart growth, local news, music and entertainment, health and lifestyle information, and other programming of interest to the eastern and western shore communities served by the station. WRYR-LP is a non-profit, non-commercial LPFM radio station, supported by its listeners.Pictured Above: Jay Nighwolf, Norris McDonald & Mike ShayJay Nightwolf has a program on WRYR called Good Red Road, which airs on Saturdays from 2-3 pmPress Conference To Support Indian Point Nuclear Power PlantA study by TRC Environmental Corp. found that if Indian Point’s power could somehow be replaced by the same mix of other power sources that currently serve New York State, air pollution would increase by more than 14 million tons annually. These harmful pollutants would be emitted in the form of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter. Such emissions are linked to such health problems as asthma, other respiratory illnesses, and heart and lung diseases.Compounding this, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reported that New York City and several downstate counties do not currently meet seven-year-old standards for particulate pollution that causes thousands of premature deaths each year.Closing Indian Point would require the region to get more power from more polluting plants. That is bad for the environment – and bad for people, especially more vulnerable members of our society like the young and old, as well as inner-city minorities who already live in high risk areas like the sections of Queens known as “asthma alley.”Riverkeeper should reconsider its position on Indian Point and do the environmentally sensible thing – support its continued operation so that New Yorkers can breathe easier and longer thanks to more efficient power generation..