His brilliant career: about that nuclear power industry work

We've noticed that whenever Brian Davis opens his mouth to repeat the NRCC's talking points about energy policy, there's a tag line about his work as an engineer in the nuclear power industry, credentials which are meant to lend those views as certain gravitas.

For instance, a recent column in the Worthington Globe, featured this capsule bio:

Brian Davis trained as a nuclear engineer and worked in the nuclear power industry. He is a physician and a Rochester resident.

We've pointed out before that Davis had worked a year in the field after graduating from college with an undergraduate degree in engineering.

Not so. In looking at Davis's Facebook page, we discover that his professional career after graduation was a few months shorter than we thought.

From Brian Davis's page:

Employer:	Sargent & Lundy
Position:	Nuclear Engineer
Time Period:	June 1977 - January 1983
Description:	Between 1977 and 1983, I worked at Sargent & Lundy Consulting Engineers 4 summers, 2 college semesters and full-time after graduation for 8 months. The work included mechanical design and drafting, nuclear safeguards and licensing, project management, engineering mechanics, and radioactive waste management.

Davis spent more time at the firm as a work study student (see campaign bio) than as an engineer. We're going to hazard a guess that Davis had a summer job and took part in a co-op education program at the University of Illinois. His eight-month professional career upon graduation ended in January 1983, just over 25 years ago.

Curious how the mainstream press doesn't seem to have picked up on this. Perhaps Republican primary voters will consider the contrast between Davis's slender vita in the energy industry with Day's more substantial career in public service.

We'll have more on the new whopper in the Worthington Globe column before the weekend's done. Can't say when that will appear, as we are headed for the lake and leaving the laptop and Mr. Aircard behind.

Update 7-7-2008: Our promised post is coming today.

It also occurs to us to remind readers that much of the renewed interest in nuclear power has been spurred by the plants' very low emissions of CO2; thus, nuclear power is touted as a means to reduce turn back climate change. We think that it's a source that should be in our nation's energy portfolio, provided that construction costs, realistic views on uranium supplies in the face of increased global demand, and resolution of disposal issues (including reprocessing spent fuel) are part of the discussion.

However, since Dr. Davis believes that energy policy should never be based on what he terms "global warming religion," he's not making this argument. In a January email, he set out several principles for setting energy policy. One was:

Our nation’s energy policy and economic well-being should not be based on the deeply flawed theory that carbon dioxide produced from fossil fuel combustion will lead to catastrophic climate change. [end update]