John Hutson

John Hutson is the president and chief executive of Fresno Nuclear Energy Group LLC, a company which is proposing to build a nuclear power station in Fresno county. Hutson is also the chairman of the Fresno Utility Commission. 

In March 2008, Hutson said that the Fresno Nuclear Energy Group would try "to avoid the [California] state moratorium [on new nuclear power plants] by not producing waste. Used fuel would be shipped to France for reprocessing, rather than encased in steel and concrete and stored on site awaiting a permanent repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada." The same article described Hutson as a "former labor union leader."

Like many nuclear power proponents, Hutson argues that more nuclear plants are needed to respond to global warming. "What kind of future will our children have if we don't stop this gluttonous cycle of global warming? ... Nuclear can't do it alone. Wind can't do it alone. Solar can't do it alone," he said.

Hutson also argues that building a nuclear plant in Fresno would improve the city's economic situation. "I'm on the board of directors for (Fresno's) Marjaree Mason Center for Domestic Violence. Domestic violence went up 60 percent in our community over the last ten years. ... We have the highest pockets of poverty in the nation. We have domestic violence because when men don't have jobs, they lose their self-worth and harm the people they love. We need to attract businesses and jobs," he said.

However, Ralph Cavanagh of the environmental group NRDC called nuclear power "not a job-intensive use of money." He added, "Most of your money is going to equipment and a small number of operators. ... If you really want to create jobs, the best thing for Fresno would be to run a massive energy-efficiency campaign and cycle the dollars through Fresno's economy."

SourceWatch resources

 * Fresno Nuclear Energy Group LLC
 * Patrick Moore on Nuclear Power

Articles

 * Nancy Osborne, "Fresno Considering Nuclear Power Plant", ABC News, December 13, 2006.
 * Jeff St. John, "Nuclear plant idea takes hold: Group says it will seek power facility for Fresno", Fresno Bee, December 14, 2006.