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Environment in the News
West By Northwest.org
A breathtakingly lovely photo of a mountain lake or maybe the Columbia River
with Mt. Hood in the background, deep azure skies and a long white cloud to match
the snowy flanks of the mountain. Green, green trees frame this heaven on earth.
Below to the left ,white type on dark, vibrant green reads "Store nuclear waste
here in the Pacific Northwest... or in the remote Nevada desert? It's the U.S. Senate's
call". This is an full page, four color ad that appeared in our local newspaper,
the Register Guard, May 28, ,2002. An ad sponsored by the Alliance for Sound Nuclear
Policy. They say they represent 26 million consumers, seniors, environmentalists,
business leaders and union members. They say "Nuclear waste is stored at the
Hanford site along the Columbia River and at the" (now closed) "Trojan
nuclear plant. It belongs deep beneath Yucca Mountain, Nevada."
Yes... Thirty years ago we were quoting scientists who said that the Columbia River
was the most radioactive body of water on earth! Too dangerous to store this waste.
We need to do something. And fast. But what? ... And who are these guys, anyway?
What is their agenda? --Editor
Public
Citizen Demands Disclosure
of Pro-Yucca Campaign’s Ties
to the Nuclear Industry
Alliance for Sound Nuclear Policy a "Front Group" for
Nuclear Energy Institute
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Public Citizen today sent a letter to Alliance for Sound Nuclear
Policy to request full disclosure of the group's funding sources and membership.
The Alliance has launched an aggressive television and newspaper advertising campaign
in support of the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump.
The Alliance surfaced following Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's Feb. 14 recommendation
in favor of the nuclear dump, which is widely opposed by environmental and public
interest organizations. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee narrowly
approved the Yucca Mountain proposal 13-10 today. The full Senate is expected to
vote on the controversial issue in the coming weeks.
In statements made to the media, the Alliance has claimed to represent "more
than 26 million consumers, seniors, environmentalists, business leaders and union
members," but the group does not have a Web site and is not registered as a
lobbyist organization. However, Public Citizen has learned that the Alliance is housed
at the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), the nuclear industry's lobbying organization.
Alliance director Sherry Reilly has worked for NEI in public relations for several
years.
"This group appears to be intentionally obscuring information about its membership
and funding," said Joan Claybrook, Public Citizen president. "This Alliance
is nothing more than a front group for NEI. Its pro-Yucca Mountain advertising campaign,
which claims to represent the views of consumers, is misleading and disingenuous
absent full disclosure of the Alliance's close ties to the commercial nuclear industry."
The nuclear industry has heavily lobbied in support of the Yucca Mountain proposal
because it is desperate for a "solution" to the nuclear waste problem to
help pave the way for an expansion in nuclear power generation. According to Public
Citizen research, current U.S. senators and 2002 senatorial candidates have taken
more than $5 million from the nuclear power industry in political action committee
"hard money" contributions since 1997.
The nuclear industry contributed more than $82,000 to Abraham's failed bid for re-election
to the U.S. Senate prior to his controversial Yucca Mountain site recommendation,
and Abraham's top nuclear contributors in 2000 spent $25 million lobbying Congress
in that year alone.
"Lawmakers should not fooled by the Alliance's efforts to put a friendly face
on the industry that continues to generate 2,200 tons of high-level radioactive waste
each year," Claybrook said. "When the Senate votes on the repository proposal,
the agenda of the well-financed nuclear industry should not be allowed to dominate
concerns for public health, safety and the environment. This is just one more example
of industry maneuvering and manipulating to cover their tracks and pretend they represent
the public interest."
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Public Citizen is an independent voice for citizens
in the halls of power. We take NO government funding.
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Also see:
Wx Nw.org's Yucky Yucca!
Las Vegas Review- Journal's Steve Tetreault on Yucca
Mountain: Ads broadcast in Wyoming
See more complete information about Yucca
Mountain at Public Citizen.
and Citizen Alert's
Yucca Tour - great interactive educational site!
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