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A far more important issue that the article doesn't explain is why the Yucca Mountain repository was shut down. It had nothing to do with technology or safety,

A far more important issue that the article doesn't explain is why the Yucca Mountain repository was shut down. It had nothing to do with technology or safety, or even money. It was the NIMBY-mentality -- Not In My BackYard -- of a population that can't assess or compare risks[1]. I wonder which the average Joe in Nevada thinks is worse: nuclear weapons (of which Nevada has plenty and a history of unreported accidents) or Yucca? [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain_nuclear_waste_repository#Opposition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca_Mountain_nuclear_waste_re...

derekp7 12y ago
It wasn't just Nevada -- it was any major city which would have the waste material transport through or near it. Some cities would have a couple shipments a day for months or years on end, or at least that's what the news media was reporting at the time.
- shutupalready 12y ago
  That brings up another thing that the average Joe doesn't think about: that nuclear weapons are transported on unmarked trucks right along major highway routes. For all we know, a couple shipments might pass certain cities every day for months or years on end. Nuclear weapons have to be initially deployed, moved for repositioning, maintained, repaired, upgraded, and retired. All this is done in secret. If only nuclear waste had also been handled in secret, the masses would have turned their attention to protesting chemtrails or something, rather than derailing the well-thought-out Yucca plan.
  - Ma8ee 12y ago
    Yes, demokracy is a mess. Better not tell the the stupid populace about important decisions, they'll just interfere. /s
    - ObviousScience 12y ago
      You say that sarcastically, but isn't that the very basis of using a republican system rather than a direct democracy, and a well known problem with direct, majority-wins democracy?
      - Ma8ee 12y ago
        No, secrecy isn't the basis. The basis of representative democracy is transparency so the citizens can judge how well their elected do their jobs. If the elected do what ever they do in secrecy there can't be any fair elections.
        ObviousScience 12y ago
        Part of the basis is that most citizens simply don't have the time to have informed opinions on topics such as this, and hence we'd end up with a lot of ignorant opinions voted in, because the majority don't even really understand what the issues is. In theory, a republican form of government can help with this because the representatives job is to learn about such issues and vote intelligently. Some of the issue with the current US politics is that ignorant people insist that their ignorance is as good as a reasoned opinion, and demand that elected officials vote that way rather than from a reasoned position. I'm not saying the secrecy part is the core, but rather, that officials should make choices that seem counter to the opinions of most voters, because most voters' opinions aren't actually aligned with their interests, purely because not everyone has time to know about every topic and have a reasonable opinion on it. In a republican government, you should vote on your representative based on the method he takes to voting (eg, how well he's doing at becoming educated and translating that in to votes) rather than how well he matches your uninformed opinions. So in cases like a nuclear facility, a republican form of government should probably just ignore the uninformed objections and do it anyway, which is the sentiment that your paraphrasing was based on.
        Ma8ee 12y ago
        The main issue with American politics is that some representatives think that their ignorance is as good as reasoned opinion. I'm in no way championing direct democracy - I think we agree pretty much about how representative democracy is supposed to work and how voters are supposed to vote. Where we differ is that I think transparency is essential to any functioning democracy. As you say, voters don't have the time or inclination to inform themselves properly about the issues at hand. But instead America has a system where most politicians don't bother to actually form well thought through opinions either, but rather rely on the opinions of the people that fills their campaign coffins. Allowing them to do that in complete secrecy would be the same as giving the power directly to the oil companies and military industrial complex.
TheGrassyKnoll 12y ago
I think our friends in Nevada should consider taking one for the team on Yucca Mountain. Waiting around for a disaster is gonna cost a hell of a lot more than just hoping the problem's gonna fix itself.

derekp7 12y ago

It wasn't just Nevada -- it was any major city which would have the waste material transport through or near it. Some cities would have a couple shipments a day for months or years on end, or at least that's what the news media was reporting at the time.

shutupalready 12y ago
That brings up another thing that the average Joe doesn't think about: that nuclear weapons are transported on unmarked trucks right along major highway routes. For all we know, a couple shipments might pass certain cities every day for months or years on end. Nuclear weapons have to be initially deployed, moved for repositioning, maintained, repaired, upgraded, and retired. All this is done in secret. If only nuclear waste had also been handled in secret, the masses would have turned their attention to protesting chemtrails or something, rather than derailing the well-thought-out Yucca plan.
- Ma8ee 12y ago
  Yes, demokracy is a mess. Better not tell the the stupid populace about important decisions, they'll just interfere. /s
  - ObviousScience 12y ago
    You say that sarcastically, but isn't that the very basis of using a republican system rather than a direct democracy, and a well known problem with direct, majority-wins democracy?
    - Ma8ee 12y ago
      No, secrecy isn't the basis. The basis of representative democracy is transparency so the citizens can judge how well their elected do their jobs. If the elected do what ever they do in secrecy there can't be any fair elections.
      - ObviousScience 12y ago
        Part of the basis is that most citizens simply don't have the time to have informed opinions on topics such as this, and hence we'd end up with a lot of ignorant opinions voted in, because the majority don't even really understand what the issues is. In theory, a republican form of government can help with this because the representatives job is to learn about such issues and vote intelligently. Some of the issue with the current US politics is that ignorant people insist that their ignorance is as good as a reasoned opinion, and demand that elected officials vote that way rather than from a reasoned position. I'm not saying the secrecy part is the core, but rather, that officials should make choices that seem counter to the opinions of most voters, because most voters' opinions aren't actually aligned with their interests, purely because not everyone has time to know about every topic and have a reasonable opinion on it. In a republican government, you should vote on your representative based on the method he takes to voting (eg, how well he's doing at becoming educated and translating that in to votes) rather than how well he matches your uninformed opinions. So in cases like a nuclear facility, a republican form of government should probably just ignore the uninformed objections and do it anyway, which is the sentiment that your paraphrasing was based on.
        Ma8ee 12y ago
        The main issue with American politics is that some representatives think that their ignorance is as good as reasoned opinion. I'm in no way championing direct democracy - I think we agree pretty much about how representative democracy is supposed to work and how voters are supposed to vote. Where we differ is that I think transparency is essential to any functioning democracy. As you say, voters don't have the time or inclination to inform themselves properly about the issues at hand. But instead America has a system where most politicians don't bother to actually form well thought through opinions either, but rather rely on the opinions of the people that fills their campaign coffins. Allowing them to do that in complete secrecy would be the same as giving the power directly to the oil companies and military industrial complex.

TheGrassyKnoll 12y ago

I think our friends in Nevada should consider taking one for the team on Yucca Mountain. Waiting around for a disaster is gonna cost a hell of a lot more than just hoping the problem's gonna fix itself.