Nuclear policy experts Bob Alvarez (Institute for Policy Studies) and Brent Blackwelder (Friends of the Earth) offered a peek at this country’s nuclear future at a seminar this afternoon at USC. And it looks pretty bleak.

The two talked about the wildly expensive (Bush wants to spend $405 million in fiscal year 2008) Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) – a program that plans to render plutonium inert in nuclear weapons but still useful in nuclear power plants.

The GNEP program raises concern about the costs of radioactive wastes it would produce. Some were outlined in an Institute for Policy Studies report released on April 23. Directed by Alvarez, Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Energy from 1993 to 1999, the report concludes that the program is likely to cost billions in taxpayer dollars on an unproven reprocessing technology that will generate unprecedented amounts of highly radioactive wastes without plausible disposition paths.

Continue reading →

Rep. Henry Brown

This message was sent by ACLU activist Nancy Seufert about a recent trip to DC and her unpleasant experience with Rep. Henry Brown. She wanted to share her story.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Nancy Seufert. I am in Dorchester County, SC. Yesterday, I had the distinct displeasure in meeting Congressman Henry Brown after an ACLU rally I participated in. I had an appointment in which I was going to speak to the Congressman regarding my concerns to Restore Rights, Stop Torture, and Close Guantánamo. When I arrived at Browns office, a young lady introduced herself as Tara, a freelance journalist working for the Times and Democrat, writing an article on the ACLU demonstration and how one of Congressman Browns constituents felt about the issue.

Continue reading →