OPINION: Mine uranium, stop climate change – by Stephen Antony (Boston Globe – December 15, 2015)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/

Stephen Antony is the president and CEO of Energy Fuels.

Fresh off the successful negotiations in Paris, there is an unprecedented international coalition now focused on the important issues of climate change and clean energy.

Nuclear energy has rightfully been one of the major topics of discussion because no other power source — not wind or solar — has the scalability or reliability of nuclear energy to significantly reduce air and carbon emissions. If we are even remotely serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear power must be part of our energy future.

That’s why I’ve chosen this moment to respond to two misleading HuffPost and New York Times columns, both written by Mark Udall, former US senator from my home state of Colorado.

Udall has called for a halt to mining operations in small uranium deposits in Northern Arizona (roughly 15 acres in size) near the Grand Canyon. But such a move would not only deter our nation’s climate goals, it would also undermine President Obama’s energy independence plan.

Consider this: The United States imports 90 percent of its uranium from foreign nations, including countries that are geopolitically unstable or at odds with the US foreign policy. This makes the naturally occurring uranium at our Canyon Mine and similar high-grade deposits all the more important.

Despite implications to the contrary, no uranium mining is occurring or proposed inside the Grand Canyon. The Canyon Mine and other deposits nearby are located well outside the Grand Canyon National Park and miles away from the canyon itself. Several government studies have been unable show any potential negative effects to the Grand Canyon from modern uranium mining — including its seeps, springs, and the Colorado River itself.

For the rest of this column, click here: https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/12/15/mine-uranium-stop-climate-change/yaYgZIKgepd2bPQnS4RzGJ/story.html