Nevada’s anti-Yucca fight turns green

Benjamin Grove

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada leaders are counting on what may be an unprecedented swell of support from the environmental community -- including a few green-minded celebrities -- as the Yucca Mountain project faces a decision in Congress.

Environmentalists and activists in far-flung places such as Alto, Ga., and Montpelier, Vt., will be increasingly important foot soldiers in the battle against the proposed nuclear waste repository project, state officials said.

Anti-Yucca activists are arranging e-mail campaigns and sending word to their lawmakers that the plan to bury the nation's most dangerous radioactive byproducts in Nevada is deeply flawed.

"We have started a full-court press," said Daniel Becker, director of global and energy programs at the Sierra Club. The 750,000-nationwide member parent group sent e-mails this week to its 63 chapters in all 50 states with Yucca updates, urging locals to pressure their lawmakers, he said.

"It's a tough battle, but it's a winnable battle."

In Nevada's fight against the proposed nuclear repository, environmentalists are expected to take an active role in trying to rally public opinion against the dump.

A variety of green groups, plus an odd assortment of other organizations that include the International Association of Fire Fighters and Grandmothers for Peace International, are on record opposing the Yucca project.

On Thursday a coalition of environmental, taxpayer and consumer groups issued a report called Green Scissors 2002 calling Yucca Mountain one of the 10 "choice cuts" for the federal budget. The group called the proposed nuclear repository "wasteful and environmentally harmful."

Gov. Kenny Guinn's chief of staff, Marybel Batjer, said environmental groups "are so critical to our grass-roots efforts."

She said some groups have made this an issue they'll grade Congress on, meaning a senator or representative's environmental record will be judged in part on how he or she votes on the issue.

"That is really powerful to some members," Batjer said.

Nuclear industry officials shrug off most claims made by anti-nuke activists, and quietly dismiss them as not influential with conservative members of Congress who are likely to support Yucca Mountain.

Industry officials point to the fact that nuclear power generates about 20 percent of the nation's electricity, and unlike other sources like coal, produces no greenhouse gases.

"Sometimes it's hard to take these folks as credible because they completely fail to acknowledge or recognize that nuclear energy is by far the nation's leading form of energy that does not pollute the air," said Steve Kerekes, a spokesman for the Nuclear Energy Institute, the nation's leading nuclear trade group.

Nevada leaders are trying to enlist some star power to add visibility to the campaign.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said today that no big-name star has agreed to help the state yet and he wasn't aware of any that had been specifically contacted by the state's anti-Yucca team of publicists and lawyers. He said the state's lobbyists John Podesta and Ken Duberstein were exploring options.

Reid pointed to anti-nuclear event appearances by musicians Joan Baez, the Indigo Girls and Bonnie Raitt.

"We've had a number of people help us out over the years. Anything that focuses attention on this issue is a help to us," Reid said. "That's why 'The West Wing' episode was so important."

Reid talked about six weeks ago with Ruben Aronin, executive director of Earth Communications Office, or ECO, a Los Angeles-based outfit that enlists celebrities to promote environmental causes about six weeks ago.

The group specializes in arranging for a variety of celebrities to star in public service campaigns -- including television spots -- "that educate and inspire people around the world to take action to protect the planet," according to its website.

ECO's Board of Directors includes actor Pierce Brosnan, model Cindy Crawford, producer Ron Howard and Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir.

It's not clear yet if ECO can help put a spot together in time to have any effect before a vote in Congress, sources said.

Part of the challenge is educating a big-name star about the complexities of the Yucca project. A number of celebrities are active on nuclear issues -- none moreso than "The West Wing's" star Martin Sheen, whose presidential character was at the center of a nuclear waste transportation accident plot line in an episode two weeks ago. (The show generated a lot of buzz, but it's not clear if it raised any nationwide awareness about Yucca Mountain.)

But it could prove difficult to find a high-profile entertainer to feature in a Yucca-specific spot, Aronin said.

"It's certainly a challenge with the time constraints we're under," Aronin said.

If an ECO-backed spot doesn't pan out, Reid staffers are said to be chasing another big-name star to play an undisclosed role in the state's anti-Yucca fight. Reid's aides are not releasing details.

"It's fair to say that Sen. Reid has a lot of people who want to help," Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor said. "He's got a lot of friends."

Reid, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, has met a number of celebrities over the years through Democratic fund-raising ties and as a rising lawmaker in Congress. Reid appeared -- as a U.S. senator -- in a scene with Michael Douglas the Oscar-winning movie "Traffic."

Christie Brinkley, at Reid's invitation, testified earlier this year in opposition to a government-backed insurance plan during a Senate nuclear safety subcommittee hearing, of which Reid is chairman.

Reid is also known as a friend among the environmental lobby, and as the project has evolved since 1987, the numbers of groups such as the Green Scissors coalition have grown.

This month officials at the anti-Yucca group Nuclear Information and Resource Service, with help from Public Citizen, researched the groups that have voiced opposition in recent years -- and compiled a list. The updated tally surfaced Tuesday when Gov. Kenny Guinn announced his veto of President Bush's Yucca Mountain endorsement.

The final numbers: 47 national groups and 477 local and state organizations oppose the waste dump.

"If we had more time, we would have gotten much higher numbers," NIRS waste transportation analyst Kevin Kamps said. "There has been consistent opposition to Yucca Mountain for a long time, but it hasn't always been a front-burner issue. Now it is."

It's not clear if the NIRS list constitutes one of the largest coalitions of environmental groups established in recent years. But its size makes one thing clear, activists said.

"Yucca Mountain is a top priority of the major national environmental, consumer and safe energy organizations because of the potential harm to human health and the environment that this project poses," Brent Blackwelder, president of Friends of the Earth, said this week. "We stand as one in urging Congress to uphold Gov. Guinn's veto." Guinn vetoed President Bush's approval of the Yucca project on Monday, which by law gave Congress 90 days to vote on whether to go ahead with the controversial project.

As the Yucca debate unfolds, environmentalists and other activists expect lawmakers to take them seriously as thoughtful policy players, not dismissed as tree-hugging rabble-rousers, several said.

They hope their sheer numbers -- as well as the content of their message -- will weigh heavily on lawmakers representing districts all over the country.

"The Department of Energy has gone to great lengths to show that this is a Nevada-only issue," said Lisa Gue of Washington-based Public Citizen. "It has taken a lot of work and dedication for these groups across the country to show Americans that this applies to you."

Sun reporter Cy Ryan contributed to this story.

archive