WASHINGTON, DC, July 27, 2009 – Today the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition (CASEnergy) is proud to announce that its membership has exceeded 2,000 with the addition of its newest members - Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (SAHCC). 

“We welcome the opportunity to join the CASEnergy Coalition to demonstrate our support of clean, safe, cost-efficient nuclear energy,” said Ramiro Cavazos, president of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  “Investing in nuclear power has many positive dividends – the resulting low energy prices help boost our economic development, and the construction and operations of new plants produce permanent, well-paying jobs and revenue for our community.  In the long run, we believe that nuclear energy will provide an excellent return on investment for our fast-growing business and residential needs.”

“Nuclear energy provides 20% of the energy in the U.S. and nearly 75% of all clean energy produced,” said Joe Martinez, Miami-Dade County Commissioner. “I joined CASEnergy because I don’t think there is any better baseload power source that will help us meet increasing demands for electricity cleanly and efficiently. Nuclear energy must continue to be part of our overall mix.”

They join an already broad-based national Coalition that supports emissions-free nuclear power as a vital part of a clean energy and global climate change policy.  A sample of CASEnergy members representing the Hispanic business and political communities include: Braulio Baez, the former Chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission, Florida State Representatives Luis R. Garcia, Jr. and Carl Domino, Texas State Senator Leticia Van de Putte, the United States Latin Chamber of Commerce, (Florida), the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, 100 Hispanic Women, Inc, and the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce from Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, and Michigan.

CASEnergy is proud of the diversity of its membership - a diversity that reflects the growing consensus of people who recognize both the environmental and economic benefits of nuclear power.  

“Our diverse membership reflects the shift in public opinion in favor of new nuclear power – the only clean base-load power that can meet our rising energy demand in an environmentally responsible manner,” said CASEnergy co-chair and Greenpeace co-founder and former leader Dr. Patrick Moore.  “This broad-based support is reflected in a recent Zogby International poll that found 67% of Americans surveyed are in favor of new nuclear power.”

“A growing number of Americans recognize that an investment in new nuclear energy is not only smart for the environment, it is also smart for businesses and local communities,” said CASEnergy co-chair and former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman. “With the likelihood of new nuclear power plants and a retiring workforce, we’re looking at the possible creation of thousands of new jobs that cannot be sent overseas.”

Since its inception in April 2006, CASEnergy has attracted a diverse membership of consumer, business, conservation, environmental, academic, health care, and labor groups, as well as state and community leaders in support of clean and safe nuclear energy to meet our nation's current and future energy needs.

To view a complete list of CASEnergy's members, please click here.

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About The CASEnergy Coalition:

The CASEnergy Coalition is a national grassroots coalition of over 2,000 members that unites unlikely allies across the business, environmental, academic, consumer and labor community to support nuclear energy. We believe that nuclear energy can improve energy security, ensure clean air quality, and enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of all Americans. The Coalition is led by Christine Todd Whitman, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and former New Jersey Governor, and Dr. Patrick Moore, a co-founder and former leader of Greenpeace.  For more information about the CASEnergy Coalition, please visit http://www.cleansafeenergy.org.