Springfield News-Leader – McCain Talks Energy at Missouri State

6/19/08

GOP presidential candidate calls for new nuclear plants.

By Chad Livengood and Amos Bridges, Springfield (MO.) News-Leader
June 19, 2008

Article Excerpts

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is pushing for new nuclear power plants, carbon sequestration "clean coal" technology and off-shore oil drilling to meet the country's energy needs for the next generation.

"One obstacle to expanding our nuclear-powered electricity is the mind-sest of those who prefer to buy time and hope that our energy problems will somehow solve themselves," McCain said in his opening remarks at a town hall meeting at Missouri State University.

McCain pledged to "set this nation on a course to building 45 new (nuclear) reactors by the year 2030" if voters chose him over Democratic Sen. Barack Obama in November to be America's 44th president.

McCain's speech was briefly interrupted by a loud heckler who accused McCain of being too friendly with President George W. Bush.

"How can you be trusted?" the man said, as security guards rushed toward him. "How can you stand up for the policies of the current administration?"

McCain brushed off the disturbance with a little humor.

"I would have told that gentleman if he would have just waited until I finished my opening remarks . . . if he had a question or comment, I would be glad to listen to it," McCain said.

After his opening remarks, McCain sat at a roundtable on the stage of the student union's auditorium, asking a panel of energy industry experts and CEOs what's the best course for solving the country's long term crisis.

Both McCain and the campaign's hand-picked panelists said government regulation and inaction have created rising energy prices for everything from gasoline to natural gas and electricity.

But they all expressed optimism that the country could create more domestically generated energy.

"It's not too late," said Greg Boyce, chairman and CEO of Peabody Energy, the world's largest privately owned coal company.

Retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy, said the energy crisis is dire and needs immediate action by the nation's leaders.

"We have to approach this with the same degree of seriousness when President Eisenhower said let's build the interstate highway system and President Kennedy said let's get a man on moon," said Jones, who has been mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate.

Tammy Jahnke, dean of the college of natural and applied sciences at MSU, highlighted the university's partnership with City Utilities of Springfield and other utilities to experimentally inject food-grade carbon dioxide 2,000 feet into the Earth's bedrock. The process known as carbon sequestration is seen as a potential way to mitigating global warming by disposing of the greenhouse gas into the Earth.

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