“Vermont Yankee is committed to keeping Vermont’s environment strong and healthy. The safe and reliable operation of the plant helps ensure that the state’s abundant and beautiful forests, rivers, and lakes are not damaged by acid rain. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), in 2008, Vermont Yankee avoided the emission of 6,500 tons of sulfur dioxide, 1,400 tons of nitrogen oxides and 2.8 million metric tons of CO2. Since 2005, Vermont Yankee has been contributing to Vermont’s “Clean Energy Fund,” and by 2012, VY will have contributed about $35 million, providing money for the development of renewable energy sources in VT.

In the United States alone nuclear energy accounts for about 72 percent of all U.S. emission-free generation.

According to NEI, generating electricity is the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, representing 41 percent of all emissions. As the issue of global warming continues to capture the focus of America and the world, it is vitally important to look at the role nuclear can play in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that continue to pollute the air and damage our ecosystem.

In fact, electricity generated by nuclear avoids almost 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in the U.S. This is nearly as much carbon dioxide as is released from all U.S. passenger cars.

In thinking about energy and the powerful role it plays in ensuring the quality of the environment, we are compelled to look at the carbon footprint of various energy sources.

Life-cycle analysis is a mechanism for measuring the total environmental impact of various energy sources. This includes emissions resulting from all aspects of each energy source-construction, operation, dismantling and disposal.

The life-cycle impact of nuclear energy is among the lowest of any form of electricity generation, comparable with renewable technologies such as wind and solar power.”