Presidential hopeful Dean questions nuclear dump on Vegas visit

Presidential hopeful Dean questions nuclear dump on Vegas visit
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean called for a more extensive review of the plan to locate the nation's nuclear waste dump in Nevada, but stopped short of opposing the Yucca Mountain repository Tuesday.

"We still need some kind of central repository," Dean said as he arrived in the Las Vegas area for two private fund-raisers.

Dean said the scientific studies that led President Bush to adopt Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham's recommendation to store nuclear waste in Nevada require scrutiny.

"There has been some suggestion that the science at Yucca may be faulty," he said. "Before we put it at Yucca it better be reviewed very carefully."

MORE...............

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/10/28/state2201EST0138.DTL

This is a good move by Dean, and if he doesn't get the nomination, should be copied by whoever does get it. Nevada went for Bush in 2000 (barely), and a timely reminder to the folks there of what candidate Bush said (no nuclear waste facility at Yucca) and what President Bush did (nuclear waste facility to be sited at Yucca) might put Nevada back in the Democratic column in 2004.

in Crawford, TX, right next to the "ranch"

:evilgrin:

and the largest population center. As you pointed out, he squeaked by in 00', but it won't happen again.

This is a MAJOR disingenuous statement from Dean. Why would he have supported the science before when he was FOR it? Wasn't THAT the time to be looking at the science? Many environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers shared their findings with Dean at that time. Why did he unequivocally support Bush then?

Because he's only been a populist since February 2003?

Provide proof.

Hawkeye-X

Will get the Dean supported Bush on Yucca Mt. link for you. In the meantime, here's his close relationship with energy donors.

btw Hawkeye, it's very well known that Dean supported Bush on Yucca Mt. I am very surprised you did not know this, as many of his supporters are well aware of it and have defended Dean's support of Bush on this in many threads in Politics and Campaigns forum.


http://timesargus.nybor.com/Legislature/Story/43125.html


Dean raises money from energy sources

February 27, 2002

By David Gram

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MONTPELIER — When Gov. Howard Dean wanted to raise money for a possible presidential bid, he followed the example of a former governor of Texas and called on his friends in the energy industry.

>>>>>>>
“Administration actions going back some years betray an inappropriate coziness with the utilities,” said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Service Research Group. “I am not prepared to say it’s a result of contributions given. But these contributions present the appearance of impropriety or appearance of influence that it probably would have been better to avoid.”

Dean’s close relationship with utility representatives dates back to the day he became governor in 1991. A lobbyist for Green Mountain Power and a GMP employee were among the first people Dean called in to help his transition.

A list of the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers includes Green Mountain Power Corp.’s chairman, two company board members and a vice president, all of whom made donations to the Fund For A Healthy America. It also includes two longtime utility lobbyists.

Over the years, the governor has sided with the utilities on many of the most pressing issues, including the push for deregulation of the electric industry, and later backing away from that as a goal. Among other major decisions:

— After years of pushing for the companies to absorb the excess costs of their expensive contract with Hydro-Quebec, Dean’s Department of Public Service agreed to let ratepayers be billed for more than 90 percent of what those excess costs are expected to be in the coming years. The extra costs will be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
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http://www.gristmagazine.com/maindish/griscom052103.asp

21 May 2003

With George W. Bush boasting perhaps the worst environmental record of any president in U.S. history, it almost goes without saying that any contender in the 2004 election will appear to be an environmentalist nonpareil by comparison. Indeed, nearly every Democrat running for president is advertising himself as just that, and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean is no exception. On April 22, Earth Day 2003, Dean posted a message on his website that read, "As an outdoorsman, I have experienced the incredible power of the natural world. I am horrified by what the Bush administration is doing to our land, our air, and our water. The United States must play a leading role in combating climate change and the ongoing loss of the world's diversity and natural heritage."

Candidate Dean.As governor from 1991 through the beginning of this year, Dean racked up a decent environmental record. Chief among his accomplishments were preserving more than 1 million acres of farmland, working forests, and wilderness from development; closing 76 of the state's leaking landfills; cracking down on mercury emissions from power plants; supporting renewable energy and electric cars; and leading a relatively successful attack on suburban sprawl. Hardliners will point out that he's also committed his share of environmental peccadilloes: Dean supported storing the nation's nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev., and backed factory farms and genetically modified organisms. Oh, and he drives an SUV.
>>>>>>>

Dean wants a secure central repository for nuclear waste. It is the Federal Government's responsibility to locate it.

I gave it to him.

BTW...Did Dean make the decision to support Bush on Yucca Mt. based on the science provided by Bush or based on the science given to him by Democrats and environmental scientists?

Dean's call for more investigation follows recent allegations of more storage issues at Yucca Mountain. That seems quite reasonable to me.

Nobody cares. Ethics don't matter. Consistency doesn't matter. Personal responsibility doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore except who makes people 'feel powerful'. The country is over. We should either leave or just enjoy our families as best we can until the whole goddamn thing implodes.

Now that he is running for President he is looking out for the country as is pointed out in the interview.
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<SNIP>

Grist: What about nuclear energy? Vermont gets a third of its electricity from nuclear power. Do you see this as a good long-term solution to greenhouse gases?

Dean: My position has always been that we ought not to have new nuclear plants until we figure out how to dispose of the waste properly. We have a nuclear plant in Vermont and I was never in favor of shutting it down as long as it's safe, but I think storing waste at 110 different sites around the country is a magnet for terrorists. We've got to figure out what we are going to do about a central disposal site for nuclear waste.

Grist: As governor, you supported a plan to store the nation's waste at Yucca Mountain, Nev. Do you still think this is a good solution?

Dean: As governor of Vermont, it was a grand idea because it would get the waste out of Vermont. But now that I'm running for president, I've got to reassess it and see what the science looks like.

<SNIP>
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We have just gotten use to a President that is not capable of evolving thought. So much so that we expect it of all politicians.

why did Dean dismiss the science shown him by environmentalists and other Democrats back when he supported Bush on Yucca Mt.? What has changed from two years ago?

That would be awesome. And get excellent Las Vegas press.

I never heard where he was sending it.

Texas screwed up their responsibility to locate a site and Yucca Mtn. isn't open yet (if it ever does accept waste). I believe they're still storing Yankee waste locally.