From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Thu May 31 2001 - 12:27:36 MDT
At 07:21 AM 5/30/2001 -0700, Brian D Williams wrote:
>Everyone wants the benefits of nuclear power without the costs
>involved. Placing the reactor as far away from the nearest
>elementary school as possible is preferred. The 91.4-94.5 million
>mile distance to the sun is acceptable for example. Locating a
>nuclear plant outside a biosphere is a good idea.
>
>I agree with the protests we are likely to see from the residents
>of the state of Nevada on this issue.
The Nevada nuclear disposal site isn't necessarily a good example, as the
situation is more complex there. I am more familiar with the Nevada
nuclear repository situation than most people and have discussed it in
detail with Nevada politicians on more than one occasions. In theory, the
Nevada repository is as good an idea as any.
First, the people of the state of Nevada object in principle to the Federal
government forcing them to do *anything*, as the Feds have historically
abused that ability in Nevada. Furthermore, they object because it is
essentially a case of eastern politicians forcing Nevada to become the
dumping ground for the hazardous waste they don't want to store in their
own states -- strong-arm political tactics basically.
Second, like most Americans, many people in Nevada display a knee-jerk
rejection of anything "nuclear" without the slightest clue as to what the
risks actually are. I personally don't have a problem with the nuclear
waste storage facility in Nevada on scientific grounds.
Third, because the Federal government and other states have so much
invested in the nuclear repository in Nevada, it gives the State of Nevada
a powerful political bargaining chip with which to obtain concessions on
other issues (such as land use issues). The State of Nevada has been very
successful in putting up roadblocks to the completion of the waste site and
have the ability, using their power as a State, to delay the operation for
decades even if the Federal government manages to ram it through. Given
that the waste site is probably inevitable, the State is using the highly
unpopular Federal project as a focal point of political power for Nevada on
the Federal level and milking it for what its worth. Because the project
is strongly opposed by both the Democrat and Republican parties in Nevada
(for different ideological reasons), the Federal government has found it
essentially impossible to undermine the resistance shown by the state on
this issue.
The Nevada protests have as much to do with politics and other unrelated
issues as they do with the simple issue of nuclear waste storage.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
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