Bonnie Raitt Raising Anti-Nuke Voice

Singer Joins Other Rock Musicians To Protest Loan Guarantess For Nuclear Power Plants

(CBS/AP)  Rock musicians Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Graham Nash are putting a new millennium twist on their 1970s anti-nuclear message, urging the U.S. Congress Tuesday not to approve government loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants.

Nearly 30 years ago, the three musicians were prominent in the anti-nuke movement, helping organize "No Nukes" concerts at Madison Square Garden that stirred public opposition to nuclear power.

Now they have the Internet to help spread their message. In addition to an online petition against the loan guarantees, they've produced a music video found on YouTube of their take on the Stephen Stills' song "For What It's Worth."

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Photos: Bonnie Raitt

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"It's been kind of an emergency room effort in the past three weeks to get this petition up and running and the You Tube song recorded," Raitt told The ShowBuzz. "With the power of the Internet we got 120,000 signatures in a week by the time we presented it to Congress yesterday, which is astonishing."

On Tuesday, the three musicians were in Congress warning that a Senate version of a new energy bill contains a provision, backed by the nuclear industry, for loan guarantees that could serve as a "virtual blank check from taxpayers" to help build more nuclear plants.

The loan guarantee provision, they said, mars an otherwise attractive bill that supports renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency standards.

They musicians have backing from environmental groups and dozens of artists such as R.E.M., Maroon 5, Ben Harper, Pearl Jam, Patti Smith and Wynton Marsalis.

"We're here to be the town criers to get that information out," Raitt said.

The Nuclear Energy Institute, the industry's trade group, scoffed at the objections, saying nuclear energy is on the brink of a revival partly due to increased energy demands and concerns over global warming.

"It's a debate they're going to lose because nuclear energy over the last quarter-century has proven its value to our country," institute spokesman Steve Kerekes told The Associated Press. "It's almost as if they're in a time capsule and they've been transported forward."

"What time capsule did we miss where they learned to save the waste safely and transport it?," Raitt told The ShowBuzz in response to Kerekes comments. "What time capsule did he miss about nuclear terrorism?"

Reps. Edward Markey, a leading Democrat on energy issues, and Rep. John Hall, also a Democrat, said the musicians will provide more lobbying muscle on the energy bill. Hall, once part of the group Orleans, helped organize the 1979 "No Nukes" concerts.

Raitt said that after a busy stretch of touring and recording, she's decided to take some time off and lend her voice to the causes she supports. She's recently contributed to an HIV/AIDs album by Annie Lennox, a theme song for Greenpeace and a tribute to Fats Domino that raised money for Katrina rebuilding.

"I haven't been idle, but I just haven't been focusing on a pop album by me," she said, laughing. "If the world would just get together I could play my guitar for fun, but it just doesn't seem to be happening in the near future."

[timetrips1]

Yea nuclear waste is "bad" but then so is all the waste products from Coal, Oil and all the other currently used fuel sources.

Why not just build more damns? I''m sure we could get a decent *** every 100 miles along the colorado river, oh but wait then we have all that enviornmental damage from the lakes we would make.

Hmm, well I guess we should just turn the lights out and go back to the 16th and 17th century.

Of course all the rich movie stars would still be able to afford all the electricity they want!

[michellem99-2009]

CRZMEAT MAINE YANKEE..THEY SHUT ER DOWN THE SAME WITH HANFORD IN WA..Yer ever seen the footage of the 86 power plant in then Sovet Union..It was awful to watch..I got sick just seeing it.. I am wondering what the hell are they going to do with the spent fuel..there is no safe way to stow it. Yer ''member 3 Mile Island in 79..I lived in Portland Maine..They down played it..I feel the persons working such plants don''t pay attn to their duties and the what if..Let figger a safe way to handle and stow that waste if that can be done don''t build any more but use sun,wind,water Mum nature..

[eggy1620]

Posted by MyIDonCBS :

You should check out www.DHMO.org

[drivelphobe]

Why doesn''t Bonnie use a wind powered guitar? These ridiculouos celebrities need to do what they do best, and that is entertain and go to the bank. Leave the real issues of life to those who have to live it. brianbwb is right on. government money means it belongs ot the taxpayer. We don''t need to provide multimillion dollar bouses to cronies of politicians just to be figure heads, unless it''s someone I know.

[maxxzilla]

Limousine liberals. Is anyone really so dumb that they think you can run a steel mill off wind of solar power? Trust me, they''re not going to be doing without, that''s only for us "little people".

[gunownerdan]

Renewable energy is the only way to have a better, safer, and cleaner future.

[myidoncbs]

Nuclear power plants output energy (that''s nice) and nuclear waste that is FATAL to all human being for millions of years. (that''s NOT nice!)

There''s NO WHERE SAFE to store it.

There''s NO SAFE WAY to move it.

The danger CAN NEVER BE ELIMINATED.

Only a complete FO/OL would choose nuclear power. It would be better to just go back to the stone age! But that''s not the choice we have to make, is it? There are MANY alternatives to nukes that aren''t the least bit dangerous (wind, water, sun, something new...)

Don''t be stu/pid. No nukes.

[eggy1620]

Why don%u2019t they put on their concerts without hooking up to the electrical grid? Ask them to slap up some solar panels and windmill next to the stage and play for 10,000 people. See how that turns out.

[Krazcarl]

Now what does she propose as an alternative? It''s easy to throw stones say this and that. When you tear something down you should offer alternatives such as wind solar tidal but no lets get the boys together and make some cash on a few songs this does not help if all the cash went to a non nuclear project to supply energy I''d but it but no just line some aging rockers pockets

[hwy71so]

Hey, I know. Lets only use fossil fuels to power the generators...