Must there be disaster before enlightenment?
NIRS: "Musicians, Actors, Native Americans Urge Congress:
No Expansion of Nuclear Power or Radioactive Dumps on Native Land
WASHINGTON - July 25 - As the U.S. Congress works to finalize an energy bill that could include more than $10 billion in subsidies for the nuclear power industry, musicians Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls, actor James Cromwell and Native American advocates Winona LaDuke and Margene Bullcreek decried the expansion of nuclear power and the industry’s legacy of waste at a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill.
The Senate version of the energy bill contains massive subsidies for building a new generation of nuclear power plants, including loan guarantees, tax credits, limited liability in the case of an accident, research and development funding, and demonstration projects.
Highlighting the long history of problems with nuclear power in the U.S., the group of artists and advocates drew special attention to a nuclear utility consortium’s proposal to dump 44,000 tons of highly radioactive atomic fuel from commercial reactors onto the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation, located 45 miles from Salt Lake City. A final decision on the proposal, which would require 4,000 rail shipments of radioactive waste over the next 20 years, is expected soon from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In contrast to the expensive and dangerous history of nuclear power, the presenters emphasized the readiness of renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2004, newer technologies such as renewable energy and co-generation already provided 92 percent as much electricity globally as nuclear power did, according to a recent Rocky Mountain Institute report.
“Right now we are standing at a critical crossroads in the history of our nation,” said Ani DiFranco. “In one direction we sacrifice the great American southwest to inevitable and irreversible radiation. In the other direction we stem the tide of pollution and disease by nuclear power conglomerates, and shift instead into sane and sustainable energy production. The choice is ours. The time is now.”
“The problem of nuclear waste is not solved when the “solution” is to dump it on Indian lands,” said Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth. “Dumping on the Goshutes opens the door to more nuclear waste, more dumps, and more time lost to unsustainable and unjust energy development.”
“Dumping high-level nuclear waste on Indian land is environmental racism and absolutely unacceptable,” said Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls. “Nuclear power is not clean and there is nowhere on earth to store its waste safely. It is time to shift the U.S. energy paradigm away from fossil fuels and nuclear power toward a safe and clean energy future.”
Concerns were raised about the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) promotion of the Skull Valley dump without a tribal vote or consideration of the adverse impacts on the community. “BIA is supposed to protect the well-being of our tribe and its members,” said Margene Bullcreek of the Skull Valley Goshute tribe. “Instead, they undermine our sovereignty by approving a lease for this dangerous project on our land without our consensus.”
“When it comes to nuclear energy and weapons, from the mining to the testing to the disposal of nuclear waste, Native communities have been a sacrificial lamb for our destructive and wasteful policies,” said Amy Ray of Indigo Girls. “Indeed, we all will suffer if nuclear energy is not shut down.”
After the briefing, the group was scheduled to meet with Senators, urging them to oppose an energy bill that would spend billions of taxpayer dollars on the construction of new nuclear power plants and calling instead for significant investments in technologies that will protect public health and the environment.
“The only thing the nuclear power industry has done right in the past three decades is not build a new plant,” said Kevin Kamps of Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “We need an energy bill that corrects the nuclear mistake, not one that commits billions of taxpayer dollars to repeat it.”
“Enough is enough,” said James Cromwell. “The legacy of fifty years of federal subsidies for nuclear power is 50,000 tons of forever deadly radioactive waste. We need to replace nuclear power with renewable energy sources so we have a finite radioactive waste problem to deal with, not an infinite one.”
“After Skull Valley where will be the next dump? And the next?” asked Ani DiFranco. “Must there be disaster before enlightenment?”"
No Expansion of Nuclear Power or Radioactive Dumps on Native Land
WASHINGTON - July 25 - As the U.S. Congress works to finalize an energy bill that could include more than $10 billion in subsidies for the nuclear power industry, musicians Ani DiFranco and Indigo Girls, actor James Cromwell and Native American advocates Winona LaDuke and Margene Bullcreek decried the expansion of nuclear power and the industry’s legacy of waste at a congressional briefing on Capitol Hill.
The Senate version of the energy bill contains massive subsidies for building a new generation of nuclear power plants, including loan guarantees, tax credits, limited liability in the case of an accident, research and development funding, and demonstration projects.
Highlighting the long history of problems with nuclear power in the U.S., the group of artists and advocates drew special attention to a nuclear utility consortium’s proposal to dump 44,000 tons of highly radioactive atomic fuel from commercial reactors onto the Skull Valley Goshute Indian reservation, located 45 miles from Salt Lake City. A final decision on the proposal, which would require 4,000 rail shipments of radioactive waste over the next 20 years, is expected soon from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
In contrast to the expensive and dangerous history of nuclear power, the presenters emphasized the readiness of renewable energy and energy efficiency. In 2004, newer technologies such as renewable energy and co-generation already provided 92 percent as much electricity globally as nuclear power did, according to a recent Rocky Mountain Institute report.
“Right now we are standing at a critical crossroads in the history of our nation,” said Ani DiFranco. “In one direction we sacrifice the great American southwest to inevitable and irreversible radiation. In the other direction we stem the tide of pollution and disease by nuclear power conglomerates, and shift instead into sane and sustainable energy production. The choice is ours. The time is now.”
“The problem of nuclear waste is not solved when the “solution” is to dump it on Indian lands,” said Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth. “Dumping on the Goshutes opens the door to more nuclear waste, more dumps, and more time lost to unsustainable and unjust energy development.”
“Dumping high-level nuclear waste on Indian land is environmental racism and absolutely unacceptable,” said Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls. “Nuclear power is not clean and there is nowhere on earth to store its waste safely. It is time to shift the U.S. energy paradigm away from fossil fuels and nuclear power toward a safe and clean energy future.”
Concerns were raised about the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) promotion of the Skull Valley dump without a tribal vote or consideration of the adverse impacts on the community. “BIA is supposed to protect the well-being of our tribe and its members,” said Margene Bullcreek of the Skull Valley Goshute tribe. “Instead, they undermine our sovereignty by approving a lease for this dangerous project on our land without our consensus.”
“When it comes to nuclear energy and weapons, from the mining to the testing to the disposal of nuclear waste, Native communities have been a sacrificial lamb for our destructive and wasteful policies,” said Amy Ray of Indigo Girls. “Indeed, we all will suffer if nuclear energy is not shut down.”
After the briefing, the group was scheduled to meet with Senators, urging them to oppose an energy bill that would spend billions of taxpayer dollars on the construction of new nuclear power plants and calling instead for significant investments in technologies that will protect public health and the environment.
“The only thing the nuclear power industry has done right in the past three decades is not build a new plant,” said Kevin Kamps of Nuclear Information and Resource Service. “We need an energy bill that corrects the nuclear mistake, not one that commits billions of taxpayer dollars to repeat it.”
“Enough is enough,” said James Cromwell. “The legacy of fifty years of federal subsidies for nuclear power is 50,000 tons of forever deadly radioactive waste. We need to replace nuclear power with renewable energy sources so we have a finite radioactive waste problem to deal with, not an infinite one.”
“After Skull Valley where will be the next dump? And the next?” asked Ani DiFranco. “Must there be disaster before enlightenment?”"
posted by Greta Jane at Tuesday, July 26, 2005
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