Event raises funds and awareness for IP campaign

George Hornig and Joan Hornig / Photos: Annie Watt
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To raise awareness and support for Riverkeeper’s campaign to close the Indian Point nuclear power plant, Joan Hornig and Riverkeeper board member George Hornig hosted a discussion and fundraiser for the campaign at their New York City home on Oct. 13. More than 100 people attended the event.

Hamilton Fish, publisher of the Washington Spectator and former publisher of the Nation magazine, spoke about the environmental and public health threats posed to the New York metropolitan region by Indian Point’s continued operation. He pointed to the unforeseen crises at Japanese nuclear power plants in 2011 as a decisive lesson about the safety of operating an aging and inadequately protected nuclear plant just 24 miles north of New York City.

President Paul Gallay spoke about Riverkeeper’s comprehensive campaign to shut down Indian Point, including our legal work with partner New York State to prevent Indian Point from obtaining a license to operate for 20 more years; and to force the facility to implement modern technology to save nearly a billion fish from death and injury every year due to outmoded cooling systems at the plant. With respect to the necessity of Indian Point, he cited an independent study commissioned by Riverkeeper and Natural Resources Defense Council which shows that cleaner and safer options to replace Indian Point’s power are plentiful, available and affordable.

Proceeds from the event will support Riverkeeper’s landmark legal battle to close Indian Point and take a step toward a safer, cleaner, reliable and affordable energy future for New York City and the Hudson Valley.

State-level hearings on the environmental and water quality impacts of Indian Point began October 17; and the federal hearing on Indian Point’s re-licensing will take place next year.

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