“Energy Firms Find No Unity on Climate Bill,” declares the New York Times this morning — and why should they find that surprising? “Producers of natural gas are battling their erstwhile allies, the oil companies,” says the story:

Electrical utilities are fighting among themselves over the use of coal versus wind power or other renewable energy. Coal companies are battling natural gas firms over which should be used to produce electricity. And the renewable power industry is elbowing for advantage against all of them.

Notice anything interesting about this lineup? There’s not a single mention of nuclear power. Which is probably not surprising because nuclear — despite the fact that it already provides 70 percent of our carbon-free electricity and is the only reliable hope for producing more — is barely on the table in the debate over climate legislation .

True, John Kerry and Lindsey Graham wrote a joint op-ed in last week’s Times in which they dedicated a whole paragraph — a whole paragraph! — to nuclear, arguing that: “Nuclear power needs to be a core component of electricity generation if we are to meet our emission reduction targets.”

But according to the Times today, nuclear is nowhere in sight. Coal states are frantically pressuring Congress to give them ten-year exemptions from cap-and-trade. Oil and gas have split because gas does well under carbon restrictions while the oil industry has all those dirty refineries that aren’t getting any free passes. Wind and solar industries — which already get huge subsidies from the government — are now angling for a “renewable mandate” that will force utilities to buy their product, regardless of whether it’s economical or even leads to any reduction in carbon emissions. (Denmark, the world’s leading consumer of wind power, has discovered that it doesn’t.)

Why is nuclear left out of the discussion? There’s a simple explanation. Basically, there is no “nuclear industry” in this country. General Electric is the only remaining domestic manufacturer of reactors and it seems much more interested in promoting its windmills, which are making more money. Have you seen GE’s ads promoting its nuclear operations? Neither have I. Westinghouse was bought by Toshiba in 2006. Areva, the French giant that is proposing all kinds of nuclear infrastructure in America, hasn’t yet found a home state.

Next to farming, on the other hand, coal is probably the most widely entrenched industry in America. A dozen states produce large quantities and even more consume it. Which states are nuclear? Vermont gets about a third of its electricity from nuclear, helping it to be the cleanest state in the country — but the only interest there is environmental groups’ efforts to close down Vermont Yankee, the source of all that clean energy.

Nevertheless, as the Times correctly surmises, all this brouhaha among rival utilities and energy companies is a pretty good sign that something is probably going to pass through Congress this year or next. “The fact that everyone is rushing to Washington tells you people believe it is real,” Mark Brownstein, managing director at Environmental Defense, tells the Times.

No one should take the Kerry-Graham proclamation on nuclear too seriously. Much more indicative was the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision last week to delay once again the design approval of the Westinghouse AP1000, generally regarded as the best new reactor in the world. (After careful consideration, China chose it over all competitors to begin its nuclear program.) Last year the NRC requested Westinghouse redesign a concrete-and-steel shield around the reactor so it could protect against attacks from hijacked airliners. Now that Westinghouse has elevated the shield, the NRC has decided it might collapse during an earthquake. So it’s back to the drawing board. Meanwhile China is building four AP1000s and will probably have them up and running before the NRC grants design approval in this country.

So here’s what some Republican Congressman should do. Propose an amendment that accepts cap-and-trade but delays its implementation until at least ten nuclear reactors are licensed and four are under construction in this country. Let the Democrats put their money where their mouth is. The NRC is dithering because it knows the best risk-free reactor is one that is never built. So let Congress and the president step up to the plate. Assume responsibility for restarting nuclear and the NRC will suddenly discover it can license reactors after all. Then we might be on the way to converting the nation’s utilities to clean, cheap nuclear power.

And we might resolve this whole global warming issue as well.

– William Tucker is author of Terrestrial Energy: How Nuclear Power Will Lead the Green Revolution and End America’s Energy Odyssey.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This item has been amended since its initial posting.