Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: Beyond the bottom line

Friday, Dec. 7, 2001 | 4:19 a.m.

What other possible motivation could there be for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to jump so far out front and center in the federal government's effort to shove the country's high-level nuclear waste down our Yucca Mountain?

There is something to be said for consistency, I suppose, and in that regard we should hardly be surprised that a national group representing business interests across the country would be looking at the bottom line and not the moral, ethical and humanitarian lines that define our civilization. What we can be, though, is disgusted that a group which cares not one whit about people, only money, would inject itself into an issue that threatens the destruction of so many -- their health, safety and, yes, their businesses.

The good news, if there is any, is that our local Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce found the gumption to tell its colleagues across the country to go pound salt. That's because the national group never even called to solicit the Las Vegas group's opinion on the matter and because, perhaps for the first time, our local businessmen finally understood that there is something more important than profits.

I know that's saying a whole lot about people who like to be known for their single-minded commitment to the bottom line -- we can talk about tax avoidance strategies at a later date -- but it was a big step for the locals to take. And it was a very welcome one, too.

But, now that they have severed relations with the nationals, it seems that the U.S. Chamber has dropped all pretense of consideration for Nevada business people and jumped to the head of the pack yapping for a high-level solution to the nuclear waste issue. That solution, of course, is to get it out of their collective back yards and into ours as soon as possible.

So now, besides the United States Congress, the president, the nuclear power industry and most of the high-paid lobbyists inside the Beltway to fight, we can add the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the list of mortal enemies. Yes, I said mortal because I believe that what they are messing with is our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. On a lesser note, they are also messing around with our livelihood, a fact that should have had the U.S. Chamber running to our side to help, not behind our backs to stab us into generations of nothing but nightmares.

But that would ignore the fact that the power companies -- the guys who make, sell and pocket huge profits from nuclear energy -- are the real powers that be in the chamber. They call the shots and the other members jump to the tune. I suspect that had the nuke waste issue been in someone else's back yard instead of ours, the Las Vegas members would have acquiesced to the power companies' might just as their brethren did when it was our head on the chopping block.

Enough about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. They haven't been on the right side of an issue involving people as long as I can remember. Neither have the local affiliates for that matter. (Remember that tax issue I mentioned earlier?)

Let's focus on the local chambers of commerce, who were once proud to be members of the national group and who now stand alone. Bet they never thought that would happen!

There is a lesson to learn in this mess. Life isn't always about bottom-line profits. That's what the national folks believe. But that can no longer be what the locals think because they have just been victimized by short-term, narrow-minded thinkers who believe that profits are the only answer to every problem.

Now that we've got that straight, I have a question for my local capitalistic friends. The story I read said that the members were going to donate the $3,000 they save in national dues to the anti-Yucca fight. That's admirable, but not even close. If you really believe that Yucca Mountain isn't good for children, plants and other living things -- including a viable bottom line -- then the numbers you contribute to the fight should be in the millions, not thousands.

That's what it is going to take to win this fight.