The California Teachers Association and the $2.5 Billion Crusade Against Nuclear Power

Made up my mind to make a new start. Going to California, with an aching in my heart. Someone told me there’s a girl out there, with love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.

—“Going to California,” Led Zepplin

California was once the inspiration for songs that justifiably praised the place as the home of everyone’s American Dream. But today, it’s tempting to think of it as a bad South Park script that wasn’t supposed to escape from the lab.

Infamous for their obsession with wind turbines and solar panels, Californians now import more electricity than every other state and pay about 40 percent more for it than the national average. With more proven oil reserves than 44 other states, they also pay (with the exception of Hawaii) the highest gasoline and diesel prices in America—a full dollar more per gallon for regular grade than at least 40 other states.

Bad advice drives bad policy, and one of the Golden State’s great destroyers has been the California Teachers Association (CTA). For example, the CTA cosigned an April 2021 joint letter to President Joe Biden that advocated for weather-dependent wind and solar energy systems and an “end to the fossil fuel era.”

California Dreaming

The first of the letter’s four demands called for an end to all domestic coal, oil, and natural gas production by 2031. The second demand was “Phase out nuclear energy as an inherently dirty, dangerous and costly energy source.”

Together, those targeted fuel sources added up to 92 percent of all energy produced in the United States in 2023. A more straightforward request might have asked the White House to just end industrial civilization.

Organized labor is infamous for claiming positions out of step with membership. So it’s reasonable to assume many California teachers don’t support paying union dues to support paying high energy prices.

Those dues added up to $199.7 million for the year ending August 2022 (according to the CTA’s most recent public IRS report), part of the union’s $224.2 million total annual funding. This makes the CTA the second largest known anti-nuclear group in the United States.

Along with other recent updates based on the latest public IRS filings, the total annual revenue of the American anti-nuclear movement is now at least $2.5 billion. Last August, prior to the latest updates and inclusion of the CTA, I estimated the total annual revenue of the nation’s known anti-nuclear groups at $2.3 billion.

But, as noted, the earlier estimate relied on very conservative methodology. It still does. The total anti-nuclear movement is much larger, though it is also true that many groups, such as the CTA, have lots of bad policy ideas to share and don’t spend all their time and money solely opposing nuclear energy.

The InfluenceWatch profile of the CTA explains:

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and from 1990 until 2021 accounted for 20 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. [. . . ] A 2020 analysis from Our World in Data reported that nuclear energy “results in 99.9% fewer deaths than brown coal; 99.8% fewer than coal; 99.7% fewer than oil; and 97.6% fewer than gas,” making it “just as safe” as wind and solar power production. The U.S. Department of Energy has concluded that “nuclear energy produces more electricity on less land than any other clean-air source” and that it would require “more than 3 million solar panels to produce the same amount of power as a typical commercial reactor or more than 430 wind turbines.”

The Top 10

Here are the top 10 known domestic opponents[1] of the world’s only limitless and reliable source of carbon-free electricity, along with their most recently reported annual revenue:

1. World Wildlife Fund ($267,333,011)[2]
2. California Teachers Association ($224,210,575)[3]
3. Environmental Defense Fund ($190,102,851)[4]
4. Natural Resources Defense Council ($175,527,533)[5]
5. Sierra Club ($165,905,154)[6]
6. World Resources Institute ($140,260,323)[7]
7. Rocky Mountain Institute ($130,699,352)[8]
8. League of Conservation Voters ($68,906,791)[9]
9. Southern Environmental Law Center ($53,489,044)[10]
10. Dream Corps via Green for All ($53,488,309)[11]

Put together, the California Teachers Association, the Sierra Club, and Dream Corps have a combined annual revenue of $443.6 million.

They share something else in common, beyond opposing nuclear power and the other major fuels that make prosperity possible.

All three are based in California.

Notes

[1] As noted in the original methodology, to avoid the potential for double counting, ALL of the grants paid out to other nonprofits by WWF, EDF, WRI, NRDC, Sierra Club and Rocky Mountain Institute have been deducted from total reported revenue. Some of these cross grants went to other anti-nuclear groups, much did not. But as part of the desire to be extremely conservative in the estimate of the total size of the anti-nuclear movement, all grants were deducted, regardless of destination. The California Teachers Association did not report any such grants in the most recent IRS statement.

[2] “EU climate taxonomy imperils nature and climate – WWF opposes final Act.” World Wildlife Fund. April 21, 2021. Accessed August 27, 2021. https://www.wwfmmi.org/?3106966/EU-climate-taxonomy-imperils-nature—WWF-opposes-final-Act; and “Report too lax on forestry & hydropower, and still includes polluting bioenergy types.” World Wildlife Fund. March 9, 2020. Accessed August 27, 2021. https://www.wwf.eu/?360753/Experts-nuclear-gas-and-some-bioenergy-not-sustainable-under-EU-taxonomy

[3] Center for Biological Diversity, et. al. Letter to “The Honorable President Joseph R. Biden.” RE: NOW IS THE MOMENT TO ACCELERATE THE JUST, RENEWABLE ENERGY FUTURE AND END THE FOSSIL FUEL ERA. April 27, 2021. Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2022-4-27_Letter-to-Pres-Biden-re-End-Fossil-Fuel-Era-Accelerate-Transtion-to-Renewable-Energy.pdf

[4] Christian, Rory. “New York Gets Closer to a Clean Energy Future with New Environmental Commitments.” Environmental Defense Fund. January 10, 2017. Accessed August 17, 2021. https://www.edf.org/media/new-york-gets-closer-clean-energy-future-new-environmental-commitments; Kairam, Jayant. “California’s Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant to be Replaced with Renewable Energy.” Environmental Defense Fund. June 21, 2016. Accessed August 17, 2021. https://www.edf.org/media/californias-diablo-canyon-nuclear-plant-be-replaced-renewable-energy; and “EDF.” Environmental Progress. Accessed August 17, 2021. https://environmentalprogress.org/edf

[5] “NRDC.” Environmental Progress. Accessed August 17, 2021. https://environmentalprogress.org/nrdc; Chhabra, Mohit. “CPUC’s Clean Energy Order: Necessary, Timely, and Ambitious.” Natural Resources Defense Council. June 21, 2021. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/mohit-chhabra/cpucs-much-needed-ambitious-and-timely-clean-energy-order; Bryk, Dale. “New Jersey’s Nuclear Bailout Explained: First Look.” Natural Resources Defense Council. December 15, 2017. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/dale-bryk/new-jerseys-nuclear-bailout-explained-first-look; Moore, John. “FirstEnergy Attempts An Illegal Power Plant Bailout Scheme.” Natural Resources Defense Council. March 30, 2018. Accessed August 16, 2021. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/john-moore/fe-test; Kennedy, Kit. “Indian Point Is Closing, but Clean Energy Is Here to Stay.” NRDC. National Resources Defense Council, April 28, 2021. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/kit-kennedy/indian-point-closing-clean-energy-here-stay; “Earthquakes May Endanger New York More Than Thought, Says Study.” Earth Institute, August 21, 2008. https://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2235; and Mcgeehan, Patrick. “Indian Point Is Shutting Down. That Means More Fossil Fuel.” The New York Times. The New York Times, April 12, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/12/nyregion/indian-point-power-plant-closing.html

[6] “Nuclear Free Future.” Sierra Club. Accessed June 11, 2023. https://www.sierraclub.org/nuclear-free; and “Sierra Club Grassroots Network: Nuclear Free Campaign.” Sierra Club. Accessed June 11, 2023. https://content.sierraclub.org/grassrootsnetwork/teams/nuclear-free-campaign?_ga=2.15033332.370699222.1686591488-369628731.1686256780&_gl=1*4p80by*_ga*MzY5NjI4NzMxLjE2ODYyNTY3ODA.*_ga_41DQ5KQCWV*MTY4NjU5MTQ4OC4yLjEuMTY4NjU5MTY2Mi4wLjAuMA

[7] “ADVISORY: WRI Hosts 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners.” World Resources Institute. April 19, 2018. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://www.wri.org/news/advisory-wri-hosts-2018-goldman-environmental-prize-winners

[8] Lovins, Amory. “Learning From Japan’s Nuclear Disaster.” Rocky Mountain Institute. 2011. Accessed August 30, 2021. https://rmi.org/insight/learning-from-japans-nuclear-disaster/; Tatarenko, Oleksiy. “Reality Check: Europe Must Go Renewable to Escape Energy and Climate Crisis.” Rocky Mountain Institute. February 22, 2022. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://rmi.org/europe-must-go-renewable-to-escape-energy-and-climate-crisis/; and Lovins, Amory. “Fourteen Alleged Magical Properties That Coal and Nuclear Plants Don’t Have and Shouldn’t Be Paid Extra for Providing.” Rocky Mountain Institute. July 21, 2017. Accessed August 2, 2023. https://rmi.org/fourteen-alleged-magical-properties-coal-nuclear-plants-dont-shouldnt-paid-extra-providing/

[9] “Dear Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member Carper, and Members of the Committee.” November 30, 2020. Accessed August 14, 2023. https://foe.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Sign-on_S4897_OPPOSE_119-orgs-3.pdf

[10] “New report shows solar, energy efficiency outcompete nuclear in meeting Georgia’s energy needs.” Southern Environmental Law Center. May 12, 2017. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://www.southernenvironment.org/news/new-report-shows-solar-energy-efficiency-outcompete-nuclear-for-meeting-geo/; “Georgia’s Plant Vogtle Unit 3 begins ‘commercial operation.’” Southern Environmental Law Center. July 31, 2023. https://www.southernenvironment.org/press-release/georgias-plant-vogtle-unit-3-begins-commercial-operation/; “Court Again Rules that Flawed Decision to Continue Vogtle Project May Not be Challenged Until Project is Finished.” Southern Environmental Law Center. April 21, 2020. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://www.southernenvironment.org/press-release/court-again-rules-that-flawed-decision-to-continue-vogtle-project-may-not-be-challenged-until-project-is-finished/; “Clean energy advocates propose lower-cost, lower-emission carbon plan option.” Southern Environmental Law Center. July 21, 2022. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://www.southernenvironment.org/press-release/clean-energy-advocates-propose-lower-cost-lower-emission-carbon-plan-option/; and “SELC statement on Dominion Integrated Resource Plan.” Southern Environmental Law Center. May 3, 2023. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://www.southernenvironment.org/press-release/selc-statement-on-dominion-integrated-resource-plan/

[11] “Green for All.” Dream Corps. Accessed July 28, 2019. https://dream.org/green-for-all/; and “Group letter to Congress urging Green New Deal passage.” Earthworks. January 10, 2019. Accessed July 27, 2023. https://www.earthworks.org/publications/group-letter-to-congress-urging-green-new-deal-passage/