Discourse Alone Cannot Save Us
To defeat our enemies on the field of battle, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their donors.
Discourse—the public airing and contestation of ideas—serves as a fundamental element of any democracy. I wouldn’t have this newsletter or two podcasts if I didn’t believe that public discourse is a vital component of civic life. As nuclear energy advocates, we need public fora wherein we can make our case to society. There would be no other way to have our message heard. And if we don’t succeed in swaying broad swathes of citizens in our cause then it will ultimately fail.
In the last few years, serious ground has been gained in re-asserting nuclear energy’s technical supremacy and its status as a civic good. Anyone who’s partaken in securing this foothold should feel proud. And we should keep pushing. Especially as we enter into what’s looking like a tragically vindicating winter of energy austerity and crises.
And our increased footprint in the energy conversation means that our movement has begun to flourish. More people are flocking to support nuclear. That means we can afford to be more ambitious. And we should be because discourse isn’t enough to save nuclear energy from its enemies. No amount of op-eds and essays can save a plant or build a new one on their own.
That we’ve taken to the streets bodes well. Stand Up for Nuclear continues to grow and has broken out of the month of September to become an all-year affair. As I write this nuclear advocates make their way to COP26 and advocates behind in the scenes are collaborating with labor to save Palisades in Michigan and Diablo Canyon in California.
But we can do more yet.
So, I’m going to make a radical suggestion.
We need to start finding ways to legally and politically destroy America’s major environmental NGOs. They will never be our allies because they have too much money and reputation to lose to change course now. When the ESG bubble pops it’ll trigger another global financial crisis. They’ve crossed their Rubicon.
So how do we go after them?
We need to figure out where their corruption lies and haul them into court over it. That won’t be easy. A lot of the organizations have battalions of lawyers and deep pockets. But there’s obviously some dark money stuff going on here.
These groups have become extensions of the DNC - and vice versa. They regularly share data, personnel, and donors. That’s perilous terrain for nonprofits. There are strict hygiene laws about what can be swapped between SuperPACs, 501c3s, and 501c4s. My guess is not all the required formalities are being followed, but because everyone in their orbit is dirty they’re counting on that to keep anyone from saying something about the smell.
There’s also the more typical oligarchic corruption to look out for like placing family members on the boards of various orgs/companies/committees to recoup the benefits. Insider trading, too.
And perhaps a town like Buchanan, NY—Indian Point’s host community—might be able to file a class-action lawsuit against the NRDC, Riverkeeper, and/or the NY state government. Perhaps a major utility would like to see one of these groups in court. I’m not a lawyer, I don’t have specific statutes in mind, but the amount of lying and money bound up in all this plus the lives and communities their efforts have ruined has to shake out to something illegal.
Lastly, some kind of whistleblower would be beneficial for all of the above plus workplace grievances. The fastest way to demoralize and deflate an ostensibly “left” movement is to exploit its own labor issues, which creates permanent and acrimonious faction. Groups like these apocalypticist NGOs often rely on their status as a “cause” to vampirically drain people of all their worth for little to no pay—no worker anywhere deserves that. “I would give you a raise for all these 80 hour work weeks you’re pulling, but we just can’t make that happen right now. Don’t you think the meaningfulness of the work makes up for it? I mean…at least you’re saving the planet and you’re not some corporate drone…” Airing worker grievances and exploitation could lead to a leadership churn that saps them of their institutional knowledge and ability.
To that end, I’m inviting any and all whistleblowers to reach out to me. I’ve set up an encrypted protonmail account: nukebarbarian [at] protonmail.com.
If you’ve been screwed over by the Sierra Club, NRDC, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, etc. or you know anyone who’s been screwed over, I want to hear from you. If you’ve worked for one of these organizations and have witnessed deceit, corruption, or anything of the kind, then I want to hear from you.
You have my word I’ll protect your identity.
And if you’re already working on research in one of the areas, reach out to me via that same email.
Ride out with me.
Ride out with me and meet them.
Want to support my work?
Like, subscribe, and share!