Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent to March at People's Climate March in New York City, September 21, 2014

A vibrant and visible Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free Contingent will march at the People's Climate March in New York City on September 21, 2014, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) announced today.

NIRS is coordinating the Contingent, andgrassroots organizations across the U.S. are mobilizing to ensure the largest possible turnout on September 21. Thirty-eightorganizations comprise the initial endorsers of the Contingent, with new endorsements arriving daily. A list of the initial endorsers is available here: https://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/ncfccendorsers.htm.

A Contingent statement released today, titled Why We Are Marching On September 21, 2014, explained, "The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time. It poses an existential threat to life on Earth in a manner civilization never before has faced. Immediate action is necessary to slash climate-changing emissions in all sectors of society."

"The solutions to the climate crisis are not difficult to identify. A nuclear-free, carbon-free energy system is a necessity. It is an energy system that relies not on antiquated energy models of the 20^th century and their polluting nuclear power and fossil fuel technologies, but on the safe, clean, affordable and sustainable renewable energy, energy efficiency, and modern grid technologies of the 21^st century."

The full statement is available here: https://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/ncfccwhywearemarching.htm

"Nuclear power not only suffers from a myriad of problems--from nuclear meltdowns to generation of lethal radioactive waste to proliferation of materials from nuclear weapons and more--but it is actually counterproductive to effectively reducing carbon emissions and thus addressing our climate crisis," said Michael Mariotte, President of NIRS. "Costly construction of new reactors and continued operation of uneconomic reactors are not only expensive for consumers, relying on nuclear energycrowds out needed investment in the clean energy technologies that are more effective per dollar spent at reducing carbon emissions."

"Even so, nuclear's high costs are a major factor in the soaring deployment of rooftop solar systems; people understandably want cheaper and cleaner electricity and they are increasingly voting for that by putting solar power on their own homes. National policies to support that trend and others to slash carbon and methane emissions should be implemented as quickly as possible," Mariotte added.

There are a number of websites to get more information about the Nuclear-Free, Carbon-Free contingent as well as organizing materials and information on the nuclear power/climate issue generally:

Contingent page on NIRS' website: https://www.nirs.org/climatemarch/climatemarchhome.htm.

Contingent hub on the People's Climate March website: https://peoplesclimate.org/nonuclearpower/

Contingent sign-up page: https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/5502/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=71744

Facebook group page for the nuclear-free, carbon-free contingent: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nukefreeclimatefreemarch/

Contingent page on tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/nirsclimatemarch