OCR Text |
Show THE SUMMER TZ i V t I. I As T "X 1 CHRONICLE UTAH , coa see, a srwajl invutrwi m poucktmd p4mt for (j&n JrttH Si beAutiTxU lawvu , It's I : 1 to U that out 1 . op c; ? crss of . i,:"icsli are fbdlr.g L:.;u j . ThrotfJ'MK.: tf.s surr.mer, the tl-"- , ens thi-- of gw us wtzkl , university u, according to Brian director of Ncibor., U buildir.? and fro.: Is, doin;j fust enough watering to keep the grass StuJ' etc, i 'C.i.cy ar;J staff will be scL"? ca; grass i - L !.!y specify to Lro' " - :j j , ' Tl n ; I,. y 'H S ;" . sore f. ; tors c . c n ta i ?5 is, xr ' vv cc-..:- 4f WE U'S t'" -- ;x c-- ' U hi i:' en the extra steps as much water as to il le pc-rtor.': thing that Lcavitt diJ :t mandate in his aariccr.cenieat. The U has gone th.-- extra r.ile, even if it has meant sacrificing the 'campus aesthetic. . However, there are still soec th.u the U will continue to flly water, including the golf cevrse and the athletic fields. II' :? eicfjtbns are warranted. II ?clf series as the t fxal point (in " 1j teir sa area thai - . ? r:ver.uc), ari it is f :r-- !' ; c!::r tl..t the foott.i!! cii tr;r.-- - c zct practice c,n c: .:r: In s 11, ti e U'$ c rc laud-ttI, and Save CCa -- 1 WATER ML L - Ths U respois r ;$ . "i-- , iv iii's April n . ; t the sia!f of announce... Utah Is cCiciiWf Li a period of drouei.t. 11 " ;h this cty r r hard news to oval!: l:cil even Levitt reports szza-f-t isn't obeying Lis own. rule's the U has "taken itt governor's requests sen?- - .". Is add;!' .4 ) wsterirj d between 6 .;. I ? I xfiv. to wsv. u r ; waiting ?y residents cf Salt L;' Ciy :: . the 0 as an entirely j: pi rate entity, where . tt czrxpLs YJe fuactitirss inJfpen-it'tk- tl of dt.'ntortTi, lic'vever, in ill's instance (and In rriny others), the-- 0 prcfound-l- y y . p.. the surrounding community, and has proven itself to be a more than adequate water mlt moJei for the stale of Utih. s :n - Unsigned editorials reflect the majority otimoa of The Daily Utah Chronicle Editorial Board. Editorial columns and letters to the editor are strictly the opinions of the author. The forum created on the Opinion Page is one based or vigorous debate, while at the same time demanding tolerance and respect Material defamatory to an individual or group because of race, ethnic background, gender, appearance or sexual ori- entation win be edited or will not be published. D umpim, gNmcl r M OR LEY Chronicle Opinion Editor iim.ii'i-- l Memorial Day, as I drove along U.S. 93 on my way to McGill, the northern Nevada town where I was born, I made a special effort to look around at the rugged desert scenery. Sometimes called "the loneliest road in America," Highway 93 and the isolated sagebrush-covere- d hills surrounding it have become, for me, synonymous with home, family and friends. Since my parents moved from McGill when I was six years old, I have made the journey back countless times. The openness of the desert, the deer in the hills and the nearby towns with simple names like Ely, Ruth and Cherry Creek are quiet reminders that rural Nevada still holds a remarkable amount of beauty and tradition. If President Bush and U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham get their way, however, rural Nevada will also hold much more. It will hold 77,000 tons of high-levnuclear waste, to be exact. After nearly 20 years of scientific study costing $4 billion, the Bush last administration finally gave the month to the Yucca Mountain project. The project would become the nation's first (and only) permanent repository for nuclear waste from all parts of the country. Last el go-ahe- ad TO THE Editor: Everyone who values beauty should make their voice heard in outrage! I have traveled through almost fifty countries on five continents by train, bus and jeep, and I can say that Salt lake City's City Creek Canyon is one of the hidden wonders of world. The tranquility! mile marker " The beauty! Stand at the and look back toward the city. What a view! What an inspiration these massive roiling hills provide! I can remember walking down City Creek Canyon when you would never know that you are near a large city. The beautiful green hills, like those of my youthful Africa, dove down and hid the valley. On my many walks in the canyon, it was possible to image that, rather than coming down into a city, I would see a lake filled with pink flamingoes. Other dreams and memories also came alive. te one-and-a-h- But, alas, no more! Someone with more money than brains is building a monstrosity of a house in the far reaches of Ensign Downs (to the East above the Capitol Building). The location of this house is a symbol of everything that is wrong with America. It stands out like a bloody sore as you look back down the canyon toward the city In the name of everything that is good, this outrage to our environment should not be allowed to stand! I call on everyone who believes in beauty to stand up and cry out an emphatic "NO!" Who is the owner? Who is the contractor? And what bank financed this outrage? The names of these people and institutions should be on the front page! Please, somebody with some authority and power, step up and say "NO!" ROGER CARRIER Sandy. UT Gdvbdgs i7i Nevada Is u Wfaste Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn vetoed the Department of Energy's decision. However, the House of Representatives approved a measure to override the governor's veto last month, and Senate approval is now the only remaining obstacle to turning Nevada's desert hills into the nation's nuclear dumping ground. Nevada's two Senators are working hard to stop the measure's passage, but unless other Senators also join the fight, it looks like theNevadans are going to get dumped on. Despite the DOE's claims to the contrary, the Yucca Mountain project still has many unresolved problems. To begin with, the geological viability of the site is far from proven. Penelope Purdy, a member of the Denver Post's editorial board, for instance, described in a recent column how a government geologist downplayed the concern that Yucca Mountain, which was formed thousands of years ago through volcanic activity, might erupt again. The geologist said such concerns were insignificant since "the kind of volcano likely to surface here wouldn't explode like Mount St. Helens." Translation: Volcanic activity is still possible. Since the waste at Yucca Mountain would remain lethal for another 10,000 years, the possibility of an eruption even a relatively small one and even in the very distant future sends shivers down any rational person's spine. Earthquakes also remain a concern. In the a federal building within sight of the Yucca Mountain project was damaged in a tremor. CHRONICLE OPINION EOITOR EDITOR ave Beauty of City Creek Canyon As expected, JOHN ? LETTER U. rts C.":: . mid-1990- s, The project's advocates have also failed to adequately eddress the possibility that radioactive waste might seep into groundwater. DOE officials don't deny that such a problem is possible, even inevitable. Instead, they downplay the concerns, arguing that contamination wouldn't occur for 10,000 to 100,000 years. Experience, however, shows that such a possibility may not be as distant as the DOE's pencil pushers think. In Washington state, for instance, radionucleotides from the DOE's Hanford facility have begun appearing in groundwater less than a decade after the facility's construction. The problem of transportation also looms large. Admittedly, there are no documented (heavy emphasis) instances of radioactive material being released during transport. However, as Guinn insists, the chances that not a single one of the approximately 96,000 shipments required to bring the nasty stuff to Nevada will go awry are pretty low. As governor of Nevada, a state that specializes in figuring the odds, Guinn ought to know. Proponents of the site answer these concerns with what seems like an impenetrable argument: The waste has to go somewhere, and it might as well be Yucca Mountain. They claim that no reasonable alternative exists. This argument, however, ignores the facf that the DOE has never studied another site with any seriousness. The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 designated Yucca Mountain as the onfy sife to be examined as a possible permanent repository. The DOE's scientists, therefore, have spent most of the last 20 JOHN MORLEY JMORLEYCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU years and $4 billion trying to justify the site's viability, not testing hypotheses and asking questions. Topping it all off is a threat to residents of another Western desert state: Utah. The Goshute Indian Tribe is attempting to obtain approval for a temporary nuclear storage facility in Tooele County on the tribe's reservation. The facility, which would hold waste in unsafe above-groun- d containers, could threaten the health of everyone along the Wasatch Front. If the utilities dumping waste at the site go bankrupt and can't move it" when the Yucca Mountain project is completed 12 years from now, the radioactive fuel will be stuck with nowhere to go but the aquifers surrounding Salt Lake. With such large problems on the horizon, the Yucca Mountain Project could mean many things for rural Nevada. It could mean environmental disaster anytime between now and millennia in the future. It could also mean financial hardship as property values decline along shipping routes and in areas close to the project. Most importantly, and most certainly, the project will mean a diminished quality of life. As mammoth trucks bearing radioactive caskets rumble down Main Street in McGill, the tranquility of my desert hometown will be lost. In place of the fragrant sagebrush, juniper and pine, the stench of diesel exhaust and toxic waste will rise. welcomes at: John feedback letters Send to jmorlcychronicle.utah.edu. the editor to letters(5)chronic!c.utah.edu. 581-704- 1 |