This issue illustrates more than most others the critical need for public education. One could call it the perfect political storm. The stakes are very high, the hazards extreme, the money to be made by industry insiders and their lobbyists and other paid political henchmen, substantial enough to sell out future members of the human race, and the science and engineering behind it all, a tad more complicated than an Adam Sandler movie.
There exists an army of people quietly pushing for nuclear energy revival despite the unsolved problems of hazardous waste disposal and the exhorbitant developmental and operational costs to taxpayers. Concomitantly, they contribute to a neglect of the push to develop more friendly forms of energy. The key incentive from the point of view of proponents is the invisible socialization of costs, which are otherwise prohibitive, and the unsurprising privatization of profits.
Taxpayers will be called upon to subsidize much of the developmental costs thus enriching the profits to the developers and owners, rendering the enormously expensive process "cost effective". Were it not for this bit of financial legerdemain, the developers would walk away from it. Most significant is the permanent hazard to the environment posed by the waste products of this process.
The earth is not a stable environment over long stretches of time. Faults can develop in the earth's crust over time and underground water courses can find their way into and out of any and all nooks and crannies, carrying away the deadly toxic materials stored in shifting and crumbling vaults. This remains an extremely dangerous problem for millions of years.
The rush to capitalize upon the amnesia of Americans (Bhopal, Love Canal)is a cynical corporatist ploy brought to you by the same kinds of people who furtively campaigned against your understanding of the threat posed by global warming. Every spokesperson favoring nuclear energy is an accomplice in this dangerous fraud, witting or otherwise. This issue illustrates more than most others the critical need for public education.
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