well folks, here's a story a pal just sent...
it illustrates how foolish it is
to try something that is
still somewhat experimental
in an area so close to populated regions:
--his Forwarded message ------>>
> Date: Tue, 30 May 2006 22:51:48 -0400
> From: DC Statehood Green Party <dcsgp5@hotmail.com>
> To: dcsgpnews@yahoo.com
> Subject: Greens seek delay of Catawba (SC) nuclear plant restart following shutdown
> Distributed by the Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
> Charlotte Area Green Party and York County (SC) Greens
> http://www.CharlotteGreens.org
> http://www.YorkGreens.org
>
> Tuesday, May 30, 2006
>
> Contacts:
> Kathryn Kuppers, Charlotte Area Green Party, 704-490-7904,
> KathrynKuppers@earthlink.net
> Gregg Jocoy, York County (SC) Greens, 803-984-5414, GreggJocoy29715@yahoo.com
> Ed Lyman, PhD, Senior Staff Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists,
> 202-841-0181, elyman@ucsusa.org
>
>
> Catawba Plutonium Experiment Puts Families at Risk:
Greens ask nuclear
> regulators to delay restart of Catawba reactors until investigation is
> completed
>
> . Scientists and citizens call for review after shut down
>
> . Greens call for conservation during shutdown at reactor
>
> . Evacuation plans to be reviewed
>
> In the wake of an unexpected shutdown at the Catawba Nuclear Station
on Lake Wylie, local Green Party leaders
are calling on regulators to delay restart
> until a full investigation is complete.
> Greens say the use of experimental
> plutonium fuel
> at Catawba has them calling on
> Duke Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
to leave the reactors offline.
>
> "The fact of the matter is,
> Duke is being paid by the federal government to
> experiment with plutonium MOX fuel.
> The citizens of the two Carolinas, who help
> pay for the plutonium MOX fuel subsidies
with their tax dollars,
> are the guinea
> pigs," said Kathryn Kuppers of the Charlotte Area Green Party.
"The Nuclear
> Regulatory Commission should never have approved the use of
untried plutonium fuel
> in these nuclear reactors."...
[--see links for full story--]
--Sure
folks,
I can see how they might not have the proper
test facilities in some safe, un-populated areas,
but c'mon,
even if the risk is TINY,
it's STILL damned-crazy to do something
even "somewhat"
experimental in areas with communities nearby,
even if those communities aren't that close in proximity---
cause as anyone knows all too well,
wind currents could easily send
contaminated elements into the populated
areas -BEFORE- any evacuation
could protect people.
And the Duke Energy corporate dudes
MUST know
that this just weakens their public relations;
so EVEN from the
powerful-greedy-profit-perspective,
this looks utterly nuts.
Admittedly, I'm ignorant of all the details & thus it
might be one of
those experiments in which there's not a large
danger of
contaminated leaks,
-----but it's just NOT worth the risk
when ANY, even "tiny" nuclear material is part of the
scenario. Period.
Thanx also to my pal Paul Gilman who
forwarded this story since he also
brought-in the related info ala
the "Union of Concerned Scientists;"
That group is typically
VERY supportive of merging "hard science"
with even the most
liberal tree-hugging "weak science" groups,
so at least
we have good news in that more inclusive sense.
In fact, I urge ALL of you
to join
the Union of Concerned Scientists...
they allow us ecology & political/social justice
oriented folks
to have a strong, smart ally that is respected among the more "hard science" folks
& even some political folks who typically
DISMISS issues
that Lefties raise in these or similar types of situations.
---You not only get updates on important science work
or corporate science facilities/projects that are
potentially bad for the environment,
BUT the Union of Concerned Scientists will
regularly send you
user-friendly, timely & important emails
that allow you
to add your voice to their petitions to gov't folks
so as to pressure them
into stopping, halting or re-examining
potentially dangerous or polluting projects--
just like this current issue in South Carolina...
and as another Southerner,
I cannot emphasize how
critical it is to have these types of allies
here in regions that are such heavy "red" Bu$hCo states
in which
ANY company promising jobs to folks in small,
weak economies is instantly seen as good news without
mainstream media asking tough questions
before it's too late.
--In fact, these folks make use one of the
BEST activist tools available:
the ability to QUICKLY/simply click "reply"
to their emails,
thus, u don't have to spend the usual annoying time filling in all your personal
info that many other websites require every damn time
you want to join a petition
to Senate/Congress/Prez, etc.
AND the main thang::
as "hard scientists"---compared to
the "perceived" soft psychology or ecology scientists---
the politicians & mass culture will always
take these types
of scientists more seriously,
and THAT cannot be understated
when important eco-issues are at hand in poorer, rural red states where companies bully their way into the state by offering jobs to folks who've been waiting desperately for
new industry to revitalize the old-school economies
that dominate so many Southern/rural areas.
Please yall,,, go here & join for free:
http://www.ucsusa.org
Peace ala Vigilance,
Rob
