April 17, 2025

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Fifty Years of Nuclear Protection Gone:

Say No to AB 305

California’s nearly 50-year legacy of nuclear safety is under direct threat. California’s Nuclear Safeguards Act of 1976 has protected the state for nearly half a century by prohibiting new nuclear reactors until a permanent solution for radioactive waste is in place. AB 305 would dismantle this critical safeguard, opening the door to small modular reactors (SMRs) without addressing the ongoing waste crisis. Despite the name, SMRs are not truly small, nor are they proven safe—none have ever been built. These experimental reactors generate more waste per unit of energy than traditional designs and operate under looser safety standards, posing serious risks to public health and environmental security.

This bill is moving fast, with a key hearing in the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on April 21. If passed, the bill would undermine decades of crucial nuclear and safety policy, allowing powerful interests to bypass necessary oversight and bring the burden of unresolved nuclear waste onto future generations. Contact your Assemblymember TODAY, especially those on the Natural Resources Committee, and demand a NO vote on AB 305. Click here for more information on your assembly member.

Please take two minutes of your time and click below for a template to submit your letter before Monday. Together, we can stop this bill from removing the only safeguard we have in place against a nuclear disaster in California - before it's too late.

Celebration in the Shadow of Radiation

The Olympics LA28 Organizing Committee has announced that Lower Trestles, the world-class surf break next to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, will host the surfing competition for the 2028 Olympics. While this may be celebrated as a cultural win for Southern California, it raises urgent and unsettling questions. Just yards from where Olympians will compete, 3.6 million pounds of high-level radioactive waste sit in thin-walled, welded stainless steel canisters, buried near the shoreline. These canisters were not designed for long-term storage, and cannot be opened, inspected, or repaired once sealed. The site is vulnerable to sea-level rise, earthquakes, and erosion–with no permanent disposal solution in place and no emergency evacuation plan for the surrounding region if any natural disaster were to occur.

By placing a global sporting event in the shadow of this unresolved nuclear hazard, LA28 risks doing more than downplaying the danger, it normalizes it and removes fear from the public of the dangers of radiation. The visibility and celebration of this location could desensitize the public to the gravity of the situation, obscuring the reality that SONGS is one of the most precarious nuclear waste storage sites in the nation. We hope to have made strides in seeking permanent storage for the nuclear waste at San Onofre by 2028.

Major Environmental Win for San Diego!

On March 26, Sierra Club San Diego and partners, with support from the California Attorney General’s Office, finalized a legal settlement reshaping the Otay Ranch Village 13 project. The agreement shrinks the development footprint by one-third, preserves 300 acres of habitat for endangered species, and allows 800 more homes within the smaller area—balancing housing needs with environmental protection.

The deal includes $15 million for local climate mitigation, mandates 100% electric, solar-ready buildings, and strengthens wildfire safety with sprinklers, surveillance, and road improvements.

We’re proud that SLF Board Member Peter Andersen played a key role in this outcome, advancing sustainability and environmental justice in San Diego.

One Year Later: Revisiting a Vital Earth Month Conversation

Last April, SLF hosted a powerful discussion exploring the State of the Earth through four key lenses: People, Planet, Policy, and Purpose. The episode featured renowned voices like Kristy Drutman of Brown Girl Green, Patricia Sims of World Elephant Day, John Holm of Pyxera Global, and Mayte Gonzalez of IUCN. One year later, their insights are still strikingly relevant: the need for systems change, intersectional climate justice, and collaborative action remains just as pressing.



As we step into Earth Month 2025, we invite you to revisit this relevant and inspiring conversation. Replay the episode here.

April Event Recap:

Big Conversations on Nuclear Risk

This month, we’re celebrating two powerful events hosted by orgs in the movement for nuclear safety and clean energy.

Massachusetts Peace Action (MPA) recently hosted a timely forum on the growing push for small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear plant relicensing. Experts Paul Gunter and M.V. Ramana explained why SMRs are economically unviable, slower to deploy than renewables, and burdened by the same risks as traditional reactors—radioactive waste, proliferation, and accident potential. They also highlighted how outdated regulations and ongoing public subsidies are propping up nuclear projects that don’t meet today’s environmental or safety challenges. Watch here.

Over at Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobson joined their Night with the Experts series to break down the role of hydrogen in a clean energy future. A speaker at our upcoming July symposium, Jacobson emphasized that only green hydrogen—made via electrolysis from wind, water, and solar—is sustainable. He outlined its best uses (like steel, ammonia, and long-term storage) but made clear that widespread WWS electrification is the most efficient path forward. He also challenged “all-of-the-above” strategies, urging a focused transition to renewables. Watch here. (PW: *9$gp+++)



Coming Up: On Thursday, April 24 at 7 PM CT, NEIS will welcome filmmaker Jill Murphy Long to discuss her research behind Plutonium Skies: The Hidden Health Fallout From Nuclear Power. We encourage you to attend and continue supporting NEIS’s essential work. Register here.

SLF Is on BlueSky & Spotify!

SLF is now on BlueSky, giving us a new space to share updates, advocacy efforts, and connect with our community. Plus, our First Fridays podcast is officially live on Spotify! If you are not already doing so, be sure to follow us on Instagram!

Write Your Representative

Click HERE to email your local representatives to express your concerns and advocate for policies that safeguard our communities and environment.

Sign The Petition

Sign the petition linked HERE to support the monitoring and move of the toxic nuclear waste to a safer location.

Share This Newsletter

Please share this newsletter with your friends, family, and colleagues. Encourage them to join the SLF community to keep informed about critical issues related to nuclear safety, environmental health, and more.

Like these topics? Check out our "First Fridays" Series on YouTube or Spotify, where we bring together leading experts to discuss climate change, nuclear safety, environmental issues, energy solutions, and public health and wellness.

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