WASHINGTON - January 31 - In a letter sent today to the White House, 108 environmental, business, consumer, faith-based, and energy policy organizations refuted President Bush's oft-stated claim that "nuclear power is a renewable source of energy." The letter was also signed by 22 individual citizens.

In his efforts to promote nuclear power and to initiate the construction of new nuclear power plants, President George W. Bush has frequently attempted to portray the technology as being "renewable."

Most recently, for example, in an interview conducted by Juan Williams on National Public Radio on Monday, January 29, 2007, the President stated:

"Well, if you're really interested in global warming and climate change, then it seems like to me that we ought to promote technologies to advance the development of safe nuclear power. It's a renewable source of energy, and at the same time has no emissions to it." (see for the full text of the interview)

The letter's signers rejected that argument, writing: "Please be advised that nuclear power is neither a renewable nor a clean source of energy.

For that matter, oil, coal, and natural gas are also not renewable or clean sources of energy.

"Nuclear power and fossil fuels are environmentally polluting and non-renewable sources of energy that produce long-term radioactive wastes and/or greenhouse gas emissions.

"The primary renewable sources of energy are biomass (e.g., biofuels, biopower), geothermal, solar, water (e.g., hydropower, tidal, wave, ocean currents), and wind."

The groups object to the President's efforts to revive the nuclear industry by defining it as "renewable" so that it might be included in a future federal Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard or supported by federal tax incentives or research and development programs specifically designed to promote renewable energy technologies.

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