Via Nasdaq:
As part of a long-running rift over how to deal with the nation's nuclear power waste, the Obama administration announced plans this year to cancel the Yucca Mountain waste repository site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Although Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in April he would appoint a panel to determine the country's future nuclear waste policy, there's been no news since of who would be named and when the panel would be convened.
DOE spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller told Dow Jones on Wednesday, "We are planning to make an announcement soon," but declined to elaborate.
The Department of Energy won't say what caused the delay, but some industry officials have said one of the difficulties could be the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which guides how such panels are appointed. The law - designed to ensure an objective and balanced representation of policy options - prevents the administration from stocking the panel with members who would likely reach the same conclusion.
Comments
What, compared to the breakneck speed with which nuclear waste issues were addressed in the Bush administration? Come on.
Come on yourself.
What this means is write your representatives, talk to people in your community, get involved with ANS outreach activities. Change occurs one mind at a time. :)
The cart pulls the horse.
By the way, there's an interview on this with Steven Chu at the Tech Review. He seems to lean towards fast-neutron transmutation:
http://www.technologyreview.com/business/22651/?a=f
Which would nicely obviate this issue.
One of the first decisions the Obama made was to kill YMP. Why? All I have heard was that we could do better. I could do better if I went back high school and took geometry but did good enough the first time.
Since no valid technical reasons have been provided, I think it is fair to suggest that reason are political.
Bush isn't president now? Yes, but he was for eight years. Obama's been in office eight months, and you're hypocritically saying he's dragging his feet on waste.
I expect this comment won't be posted, though even the off-topic anti-Obama rants will somehow continue to make it onto the board.
http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2009/09/not-intentionally-funny.html
I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, but even I have to admit that leadership on nuclear issues from this administration is lacking. And the flawed advice they are getting from Harry Reid is, as Kit P suggests, shrouded in politics.