House Republicans are calling for a hundred new nuclear power plants to be built in the next two decades as part of an energy plan they say is a better alternative than one championed by Democrats.

The legislation unveiled by the GOP Wednesday would also increase production of oil and gas offshore, open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and spur refinery construction. The money from the new drilling would go into a trust fund that would pay for the development of renewable energy.

Further in the story it states, "Republican leaders said their bill provides incentives to switch to cleaner energy sources, by extending tax credits for renewable energy and streamlining the permit process for nuclear power plants and refineries."

The Republicans who are pushing this bill need some education. First, nuclear power is not clean energy. Secondly, the story isn't clear as to who will receive the incentives. But, it's very clear that this plan offers a way to streamline the path for businesses to gain permits for nuclear power plants and refineries.

The drill, baby, drill mentality is at work here, pushing an agenda for big business that will take years to develop, let alone a risky business for creating funds for developing renewable resources. Now is the time for renewable resources, not after this generation has extracted as much non-renewable resources as possible. That is not how the game is played. Not anymore.

The Democratic bill, while not 'perfect,' has White House approval. The Dem bill sets mandatory targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and for producing electricity from renewable sources. Readers can only hope that the Dems don't view uranium as a renewable resource.