Here we go again, yet another person who argues relentlessly for alternative fuels and rails against big oil is putting the kibosh on a plan related to alternative energy because the location is a little too close to home. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada doesn’t like the idea of a nuclear storage site being located in his home state even though that has been the carefully developed plan in the works for years. The Obama administration withdrew funding for the project from their proposed budget as a result of Reid’s influence. On a side note, I guess all that talk of the need for jobs for his constituents was just talk. These jobs just aren’t the right ones huh, Mr. Reid?
Yucca Mountain in Nevada has been carefully selected after years of study determined that it was the best possible location for the storage of nuclear waste such as spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants. The Department of Energy’s website provides a detailed description of the research that was done and the plan to protect the environment and America’s population through the use of this facility. Of particular note is the following quote:
After over 20 years of research and billions of dollars of carefully planned and reviewed scientific field work, the Department of Energy has found that a repository at Yucca Mountain brings together the location, natural barriers, and design elements most likely to protect the health and safety of the public, including those Americans living in the immediate vicinity, now and long into the future.
But Senator Reid doesn’t like it, he claims to want to solve America’s energy problems. Apparently that’s contingent on the solution being in someone else’s backyard. So President Obama went along with him and we are going to throw away the $8 Billion (yes, that’s billion with a B) we have spent studying and selecting Yucca Mountain because Harry doesn’t want it at his house.
This is much like Senators Kennedy and Kerry of Massachusetts inexplicable opposition to the Cape Wind project in Nantucket Sound off the shores of Cape Cod. This project would provide 150 permanent jobs for Kennedy and Kerry’s constituents, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 734,000 tons per year, and save New Englanders an estimated $25 million annually in reduced electricity prices. With all that in mind, how could two Senators from Massachusetts who have expressed such strong concern about global warming and the need to ‘reduce our dependence on foreign oil’ be against such a project in their home state? Well, I suppose it might have something to do with Teddy’s view from the Kennedy compound or Senator Kerry might be afraid of running his windsurfer into one of those towers. Just a couple more dedicated environmentalists – just don’t ask them or Harry Reid to put it in their own backyard.
Have Some Sense 