Bipartisan duo pushes more nuclear power in Minnesota

Talk about lessening the world's dependence on greenhouse gas-emitting fossil fuels, and increasingly, nuclear power comes up. Now if only the world could figure out what to do with all those spent fuel rods. The proposed national nuclear waste repository in Nevada's Yucca Mountain seems a long-shot as long as Sen. Harry Reid, of Senate Majority Leader fame, remains a force to be reckoned with in Nevada and Democratic politics. Against this background, two congressmen from Minnesota, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican Erik Paulsen, will join forces Tuesday to call for a repeal of Minnesota's moratorium on nuclear power plants. Back benchers? Sure. But the bipartisanship reflects a national trend on this issue, as lawmakers from both parties look for ways to promote "energy independence" without expanding the nation's carbon footprint. Even some environmentalists are on board. Some may dispute whether nuclear energy is "clean," but Walz and Paulsen say the state can't be left behind as the federal government moves forward on new energy sources. Some three decades since the last nuclear power plant was approved in the U.S., federal regulators could be close to going ahead with a new facility in coastal Maryland. For nuclear boosters in Minnesota, there could also be a jobs angle as well. Among those scheduled to join Walz and Paulsen at the Minnesota State Capitol tomorrow are Harry Melander, president of the Minnesota Building and Construction Trades, and Bill Blazar, vice president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.