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Almost every vision of a world with much less greenhouse gas includes nuclear power. And no wonder: Nuclear power has the lowest carbon footprint of any stable and substantial energy source. True, nuclear technology presents challenges of its own, but as the world focuses on climate change, nuclear technology becomes more and more appealing. So this might seem like a strange time for the federal government to be selling off the nuclear-reactor branch of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. But, in fact, the long-expected pasting of a "For Sale" sign onto the reactor side of AECL is just the right thing for Ottawa to be doing.

Almost every vision of a world with much less greenhouse gas includes nuclear power. And no wonder: Nuclear power has the lowest carbon footprint of any stable and substantial energy source. True, nuclear technology presents challenges of its own, but as the world focuses on climate change, nuclear technology becomes more and more appealing. So this might seem like a strange time for the federal government to be selling off the nuclear-reactor branch of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. But, in fact, the long-expected pasting of a "For Sale" sign onto the reactor side of AECL is just the right thing for Ottawa to be doing.

)I have lost a lot of sleep lately thinking about the nuclear train that is headed to Utah. During that time I have tried to think of something that I could do to help reverse the path that we are now on. The only thing that I could think of is to tell you my story and hopefully it will only be one of many, many Utahans putting a voice this issue. I know the effects of past radiation policies. I lost my father to leukemia after the nuclear testing in the 1950's and early 1960's that blanketed Utah. This has affected my entire life since I was 12 years old. I also fought my own battle with cancer in 1995. Ironically, it was radiation that saved me then BUT oh what a price I have paid! I was never really afraid of hell until I faced the effects of going through that treatment. The effects still linger even after 14 years. If I had known the true short-term and long-term effects of radiation treatment then, I would not have gone through with having the treatment. We should be asking what Utah gets out of the Energy Solutions deal to become the nuclear dumping ground for the world. How can we place short term gains and profits by gambling the entire future of Utah?

)I have lost a lot of sleep lately thinking about the nuclear train that is headed to Utah. During that time I have tried to think of something that I could do to help reverse the path that we are now on. The only thing that I could think of is to tell you my story and hopefully it will only be one of many, many Utahans putting a voice this issue. I know the effects of past radiation policies. I lost my father to leukemia after the nuclear testing in the 1950's and early 1960's that blanketed Utah. This has affected my entire life since I was 12 years old. I also fought my own battle with cancer in 1995. Ironically, it was radiation that saved me then BUT oh what a price I have paid! I was never really afraid of hell until I faced the effects of going through that treatment. The effects still linger even after 14 years. If I had known the true short-term and long-term effects of radiation treatment then, I would not have gone through with having the treatment. We should be asking what Utah gets out of the Energy Solutions deal to become the nuclear dumping ground for the world. How can we place short term gains and profits by gambling the entire future of Utah?

Recently, columnist Murray Mandryk, in writing about a nuclear waste facility for this province, suggested that because we have been responsible for digging up uranium since 1953, we are hypocritical in not dealing with the end waste. I should like to point out that, for decades, we were assured that our democracy was under threat and we needed nuclear weapons for self-defense. Mining uranium seemed the right thing to do at the time. Were we mislead or misinformed? In the days of Tommy Douglas (and ever since), we were always assured by the nuclear industry not to worry. A safe, long-term method of waste storage would be established.

Recently, columnist Murray Mandryk, in writing about a nuclear waste facility for this province, suggested that because we have been responsible for digging up uranium since 1953, we are hypocritical in not dealing with the end waste. I should like to point out that, for decades, we were assured that our democracy was under threat and we needed nuclear weapons for self-defense. Mining uranium seemed the right thing to do at the time. Were we mislead or misinformed? In the days of Tommy Douglas (and ever since), we were always assured by the nuclear industry not to worry. A safe, long-term method of waste storage would be established.

More than five years ago, Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at the Israeli nuclear facility in Dimona, was released from prison after serving 18 years for revealing Israel's nuclear weapons secrets. This week he was arrested again in Jerusalem, accused of talking to foreigners, in breach of conditions imposed on his release. It was in 1986 that Vanunu told his story to the Sunday Times and was lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and sent back to Israel, charged with treason and espionage. He emerged from prison in 2004 believing even more passionately in a nuclear-free world, and non-violence as a solution to the problems in the Middle East.

More than five years ago, Mordechai Vanunu, a former technician at the Israeli nuclear facility in Dimona, was released from prison after serving 18 years for revealing Israel's nuclear weapons secrets. This week he was arrested again in Jerusalem, accused of talking to foreigners, in breach of conditions imposed on his release. It was in 1986 that Vanunu told his story to the Sunday Times and was lured to Italy by a Mossad agent, where he was drugged and sent back to Israel, charged with treason and espionage. He emerged from prison in 2004 believing even more passionately in a nuclear-free world, and non-violence as a solution to the problems in the Middle East.

The nuclear debate once again risks becoming simply caught up in the pros and cons of nuclear technology itself, missing the vital point that, in Australia, we have a host of safe, environmentally sustainable, economically viable alternatives to reduce our carbon emissions. Given that renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions can be deployed now, at a scale and volume large enough to make a sizable dent in greenhouse gas emissions, reopening the conversation around nuclear is surely a debate and a distraction we don't need.

The nuclear debate once again risks becoming simply caught up in the pros and cons of nuclear technology itself, missing the vital point that, in Australia, we have a host of safe, environmentally sustainable, economically viable alternatives to reduce our carbon emissions. Given that renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions can be deployed now, at a scale and volume large enough to make a sizable dent in greenhouse gas emissions, reopening the conversation around nuclear is surely a debate and a distraction we don't need.

E-mails between Toshiba Inc. and CPS Energy and also among CPS executives make clear that the utility knowingly understated the costs of nuclear expansion to the public. Over a period of months during which CPS officials were telling the public the price for expansion at the South Texas Project was $13 billion, executives knew Toshiba was projecting the cost to be at least $4 billion higher. The same e-mails demonstrate anxiety among CPS officials that NRG Energy - a publicly held corporation that is CPS's partner in the project - intended to reveal the inflated cost estimates. "I think your discussion of incomplete cost estimates in public in November is a major problem," the CPS vice president of power plant construction wrote to an NRG official.

E-mails between Toshiba Inc. and CPS Energy and also among CPS executives make clear that the utility knowingly understated the costs of nuclear expansion to the public. Over a period of months during which CPS officials were telling the public the price for expansion at the South Texas Project was $13 billion, executives knew Toshiba was projecting the cost to be at least $4 billion higher. The same e-mails demonstrate anxiety among CPS officials that NRG Energy - a publicly held corporation that is CPS's partner in the project - intended to reveal the inflated cost estimates. "I think your discussion of incomplete cost estimates in public in November is a major problem," the CPS vice president of power plant construction wrote to an NRG official.

The details of the unwritten deal between Gov. Gary Herbert and the U.S. Department of Energy are coming out. And it appears that Utah will have a devil of a time keeping 11,000 tons of depleted uranium from a DOE cleanup project in South Carolina out of the Beehive State. When Herbert announced a reprieve last month, it was believed that the governor had bought the state time to thoroughly study DU disposal issues. The first shipment, which was already en route, would be placed in temporary storage. The remainder would stay in South Carolina until the Utah Radiation Control Board put new regulations into place.

The details of the unwritten deal between Gov. Gary Herbert and the U.S. Department of Energy are coming out. And it appears that Utah will have a devil of a time keeping 11,000 tons of depleted uranium from a DOE cleanup project in South Carolina out of the Beehive State. When Herbert announced a reprieve last month, it was believed that the governor had bought the state time to thoroughly study DU disposal issues. The first shipment, which was already en route, would be placed in temporary storage. The remainder would stay in South Carolina until the Utah Radiation Control Board put new regulations into place.

It is with great disappointment that I read the very poorly written and even shorter on facts "editorial" you published today (Dec. 8). The tone of the editorial smacks of something written by either someone in the Clamshell Alliance or someone wholly uneducated and unacquainted with the facts, but I repeat myself. I'd like to correct a few errors, if I may.

It is with great disappointment that I read the very poorly written and even shorter on facts "editorial" you published today (Dec. 8). The tone of the editorial smacks of something written by either someone in the Clamshell Alliance or someone wholly uneducated and unacquainted with the facts, but I repeat myself. I'd like to correct a few errors, if I may.

The state Legislature may finally do what the Department of Environmental Protection and Gov. Jon Corzine should have done long ago: Mandate a cooling tower at the Oyster Creek nuclear reactor in Lacey to mitigate the plant's harmful environmental and economic impact. A bill proposed by Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Environment Committee in Trenton Monday in what is shaping up as an epic showdown between Oyster Creek owner Exelon and the state's environmental groups, which are firmly united in support of the legislation. Among those expected to testify against it is Exelon CEO John Rowe. The bill would impose conditions on all energy generation facilities that withdraw water from or discharge water to a "shallow lagoonal estuary." At Oyster Creek, those conditions could only be satisfied by constructing a cooling tower.

The state Legislature may finally do what the Department of Environmental Protection and Gov. Jon Corzine should have done long ago: Mandate a cooling tower at the Oyster Creek nuclear reactor in Lacey to mitigate the plant's harmful environmental and economic impact. A bill proposed by Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Environment Committee in Trenton Monday in what is shaping up as an epic showdown between Oyster Creek owner Exelon and the state's environmental groups, which are firmly united in support of the legislation. Among those expected to testify against it is Exelon CEO John Rowe. The bill would impose conditions on all energy generation facilities that withdraw water from or discharge water to a "shallow lagoonal estuary." At Oyster Creek, those conditions could only be satisfied by constructing a cooling tower.

Clearly, Sen. Bob Bennett has been in office for a very long time. Consider these contributions to his 2010 re-election campaign from corporate and individual special interests (selected from www.opensecrets.org): oil and gas, $116,650; waste management (nuclear), $51,900; securities and investments, $233,850; commercial banks, $130,725; finance/credit companies, $61,900; insurance, $182,700; food processing and sales, $28,900; defense aerospace, $39,000; defense electronics, $16,000; health services/HMOs, $17,750; pharmaceuticals/health products, $104,044; telecommunication services and equipment, $815,250; lawyers/law firms, $110,900; lobbyists, $157,186; automotive, $16,997; chemical and related manufacturing, $11,200. Given all this special-interest support, it seems Bennett does not serve his constituents.

Clearly, Sen. Bob Bennett has been in office for a very long time. Consider these contributions to his 2010 re-election campaign from corporate and individual special interests (selected from www.opensecrets.org): oil and gas, $116,650; waste management (nuclear), $51,900; securities and investments, $233,850; commercial banks, $130,725; finance/credit companies, $61,900; insurance, $182,700; food processing and sales, $28,900; defense aerospace, $39,000; defense electronics, $16,000; health services/HMOs, $17,750; pharmaceuticals/health products, $104,044; telecommunication services and equipment, $815,250; lawyers/law firms, $110,900; lobbyists, $157,186; automotive, $16,997; chemical and related manufacturing, $11,200. Given all this special-interest support, it seems Bennett does not serve his constituents.

Word came Thursday that Virginia's uranium mining study has gotten the go-ahead from a top panel of the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. At last, science and rational thought seem to be prevailing in this decades-long dispute. The National Research Council (NRC) is part of nation's premier scientific organization. Earlier this year, the General Assembly voted to request the NRC study whether a 119 million pound deposit of uranium ore in neighboring Pittsylvania County could be safely mined and milled, without risk to the environment. Since the early 1980s, Virginia has had a moratorium on mining and milling in place, due to concerns as to whether it could be done safely.

Word came Thursday that Virginia's uranium mining study has gotten the go-ahead from a top panel of the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences. At last, science and rational thought seem to be prevailing in this decades-long dispute. The National Research Council (NRC) is part of nation's premier scientific organization. Earlier this year, the General Assembly voted to request the NRC study whether a 119 million pound deposit of uranium ore in neighboring Pittsylvania County could be safely mined and milled, without risk to the environment. Since the early 1980s, Virginia has had a moratorium on mining and milling in place, due to concerns as to whether it could be done safely.

The U.S. House sent a message to Italy, to Utah-based EnergySolutions, and to the world Wednesday -- the United States will not be a dumping ground for other nations' radioactive waste. By a vote of 309-112, members wisely approved the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, which bans radioactive waste imports. Co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the measure aims to tame EnergySolutions' international business aspirations. The company is seeking a license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of contaminated materials from Italy's nuclear power industry. The waste would be processed at the firm's recycling facility in Tennessee, and 1,600 tons of leftovers would land in the company's low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County, the only repository available for waste from 36 states.

The U.S. House sent a message to Italy, to Utah-based EnergySolutions, and to the world Wednesday -- the United States will not be a dumping ground for other nations' radioactive waste. By a vote of 309-112, members wisely approved the Radioactive Import Deterrence Act, which bans radioactive waste imports. Co-sponsored by Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, the measure aims to tame EnergySolutions' international business aspirations. The company is seeking a license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to import 20,000 tons of contaminated materials from Italy's nuclear power industry. The waste would be processed at the firm's recycling facility in Tennessee, and 1,600 tons of leftovers would land in the company's low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County, the only repository available for waste from 36 states.

In announcing its application to extend the life of Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors until 2045, PG&E emphasized the taxes it contributes to the local economy. However, there is a long list of unresolved safety and security issues that were not acknowledged. Storing radioactive waste next to two earthquake faults presents a permanent hazard. Neither the faults nor the waste will ever go away. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Homeland Security declare that all nuclear plants are targets of terrorists, and the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has a lawsuit pending in federal court regarding the vulnerability of the wastes stored at Diablo. In addition, the NRC is currently investigating why and how Diablo operated for a full 18 months with a defect in the controls of the system designed to flood the Unit 2 reactor in the event of an accident or sabotage causing a loss of essential cooling water. Diablo property taxes do not compensate for the safety hazards inherent in the nuclear reactors and waste storage.

In announcing its application to extend the life of Diablo Canyon nuclear reactors until 2045, PG&E emphasized the taxes it contributes to the local economy. However, there is a long list of unresolved safety and security issues that were not acknowledged. Storing radioactive waste next to two earthquake faults presents a permanent hazard. Neither the faults nor the waste will ever go away. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Homeland Security declare that all nuclear plants are targets of terrorists, and the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has a lawsuit pending in federal court regarding the vulnerability of the wastes stored at Diablo. In addition, the NRC is currently investigating why and how Diablo operated for a full 18 months with a defect in the controls of the system designed to flood the Unit 2 reactor in the event of an accident or sabotage causing a loss of essential cooling water. Diablo property taxes do not compensate for the safety hazards inherent in the nuclear reactors and waste storage.

Weakening Wisconsin laws regulating new nuclear reactors should not be part of a climate change bill. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, unveiled in the state Legislature recently, is a significant step toward addressing global warming while strengthening our state economy. Although much of the bill is a positive step to addressing global warming, it weakens Wisconsin's current law on building new nuclear reactors. Wisconsin's current law is common sense and protects citizens and the environment from radioactive nuclear waste, which poses considerable risks for tens thousands of years and contains plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons if separated. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power.

Weakening Wisconsin laws regulating new nuclear reactors should not be part of a climate change bill. The Clean Energy Jobs Act, unveiled in the state Legislature recently, is a significant step toward addressing global warming while strengthening our state economy. Although much of the bill is a positive step to addressing global warming, it weakens Wisconsin's current law on building new nuclear reactors. Wisconsin's current law is common sense and protects citizens and the environment from radioactive nuclear waste, which poses considerable risks for tens thousands of years and contains plutonium, which can be used to make nuclear weapons if separated. Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power.

EnergySolutions seems hell-bent to increase its revenue stream by diversifying the waste stream flowing to its low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County. Its efforts to serve as the depository for the nation's depleted uranium and the world's low-level radioactive waste are well-documented. And now, the for-profit firm is arguing in favor of "blending" trash , which would allow it to introduce even hotter trash to the Beehive State. Company officials made their case for blended waste before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday. The process, if approved, would allow hotter Class B and C low-level wastes to be mixed with Class A waste as long as the blended waste does not exceed the standards for Class A waste, the least radioactive of low-level wastes and the only type Utah law allows. It should come as no surprise that the nuclear industry would endorse such a practice. EnergySolutions is a private company looking to improve its bottom line. And the nuclear power industry is seeking a repository for its Class B and Class C waste, after a disposal site in South Carolina stopped accepting waste from 36 other states in 2008.

EnergySolutions seems hell-bent to increase its revenue stream by diversifying the waste stream flowing to its low-level radioactive waste disposal facility in Tooele County. Its efforts to serve as the depository for the nation's depleted uranium and the world's low-level radioactive waste are well-documented. And now, the for-profit firm is arguing in favor of "blending" trash , which would allow it to introduce even hotter trash to the Beehive State. Company officials made their case for blended waste before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission Tuesday. The process, if approved, would allow hotter Class B and C low-level wastes to be mixed with Class A waste as long as the blended waste does not exceed the standards for Class A waste, the least radioactive of low-level wastes and the only type Utah law allows. It should come as no surprise that the nuclear industry would endorse such a practice. EnergySolutions is a private company looking to improve its bottom line. And the nuclear power industry is seeking a repository for its Class B and Class C waste, after a disposal site in South Carolina stopped accepting waste from 36 other states in 2008.

Despite concerns that the plan could be a figurative train wreck, a train load of depleted uranium is set to depart the federal Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, bound for Utah. The DOE announced last week that the first of three train loads of the radioactive waste will soon be shipped as part of a project in which federal stimulus money is unfairly being used to clean up the Palmetto State at the Beehive State's expense. In all, 14,800 drums containing 11,000 tons of DU, a byproduct of uranium enrichment, are earmarked for EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County. But the decision to ship is premature because the verdict is still out on the best way to dispose of DU.

Despite concerns that the plan could be a figurative train wreck, a train load of depleted uranium is set to depart the federal Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, bound for Utah. The DOE announced last week that the first of three train loads of the radioactive waste will soon be shipped as part of a project in which federal stimulus money is unfairly being used to clean up the Palmetto State at the Beehive State's expense. In all, 14,800 drums containing 11,000 tons of DU, a byproduct of uranium enrichment, are earmarked for EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County. But the decision to ship is premature because the verdict is still out on the best way to dispose of DU.

"America's nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear terrorism are interconnected. How the US handles its arsenal must change. The United States is on the cusp of making a needed shift on policy related to nuclear weapons. The last time the US had a congressionally mandated review of its nuclear status was in 2002. In that Nuclear Posture Review, declassified portions contained no mention of "preventing nuclear terrorism." The latest review, slated to be finished in March, appears to indicate that America's nuclear arsenal and the threat of nuclear terrorism are interconnected issues. That means that how the US handles its nuclear weapons will have to change."

"It is perhaps no accident that the nuclear power industry chose a French word - "renaissance" - to promote its alleged comeback. Attached to this misapplied moniker are a series of fallacious suggestions that nuclear energy is "clean," "safe" and even "renewable." And, in keeping with its French flavor, a key argument in the industry's propaganda arsenal is that the U.S. should follow the "successful" example of the French nuclear program. France serves as a convenient sound bite for politicians and others advocating a nuclear revival (hypocritically evoked by many of the same people who insisted on "Freedom Fries" at the start of the Iraq War). A failure to challenge this facile falsehood has cemented the myth of a French nuclear Utopia in the minds of the public. It masks a very different reality. France gets 80 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. However, this alone does not constitute a success. Rather, it results in the production of an enormous amount of radioactive waste that, as is the case for all other nuclear countries, has nowhere to go. "

""While Utah Slept" may very well be the title of a best-seller when an accident with radioactive waste occurs in our west desert. Several weeks agao, a bill to ban the importation of foreign radioactive waste was introduced in the U.S. House. Rep. Jim Matheson was there to vote for the ban, as was Rep. Jason Chaffetz. But "Radioactive Rob" Bishop, a former lobbyist for Energy Solutions? He was away on a field trip with high school students and didn't vote. The bill passed in the House, but died in the Senate for lack of a sponsor. Our two senators, Hatch and Bennett, sat on their hands."

"Revelations about underground pipes carrying radioactive fluids at Vermont Yankee raise serious concerns about how much stock Vermonters can place in Entergy's repeated reassurances about the safety of the plant or anything else. The sequence of events is especially bad for plant owner Entergy, which is trying to convince state lawmakers and regulators that allowing the plant to operate beyond 2012 is in Vermont's best interest. Entergy revealed last week that underground pipes could be the source of elevated levels of radioactive tritium detected in a groundwater monitoring well. Yankee officials said the tritium level detected posed no health threat, but they would continue to monitor the leak to see if it was spreading."