Clinton applauds Yucca fight

Erin Neff

Tuesday, April 30, 2002 | 10:58 a.m.

Bill Clinton said Monday if he were still the president of the United States, he would not approve Yucca Mountain as the nation's nuclear waste repository until unanswered scientific questions were solved.

But after a speech to about 6,000 residents, politicians and students at UNLV as part of the Barbara Greenspun Lecture Series, Clinton stressed that he never opposed the site outright.

"I never promised Nevada that I wouldn't approve the site," Clinton said in response to a question submitted in advance by a UNLV environmental studies student. "The only promise I ever made to you was I wouldn't do it if I weren't convinced it was safe based on the science."

Two independent panels have determined that almost 300 scientific questions must be answered before Yucca Mountain could be licensed to hold waste. During his presidency, Clinton vetoed a proposal to temporarily store waste at Yucca Mountain.

Clinton's five-minute response to the Yucca Mountain question came after a 35-minute speech on America's role in a global community -- a role he said had greater relevance in the post-Sept. 11 world.

But his Yucca statements drew the most laughter and hearty applause of the night.

Clinton discussed the legislation placing Yucca on a list of three potential places, including Deaf Smith County, Texas, in western Texas, "which is farther from any large population site than this one here," he said to tremendous applause.

Clinton then said he read an article that said the original transportation route was changed when it took the waste within 100 yards of the U.S. Capitol.

The Energy Department has not published any transportation routes.

Still, Clinton's comment on the routes drew laughter. "They had to reroute it," Clinton said. "If the think it's so darn safe why don't they leave it where it is?"

The laughs led him to comment that the whole situation is laughable due to its absurdity.

"Oh, I don't want it in Texas," he said, hamming to the crowd by taking a jab at the way leaders in Washington are deciding the issue. "And I don't want it traveling too close to the Capitol. And I'm sorry you had an earthquake on the site. I really am. But we've got to put it somewhere, and I'm just going to ram it through to Nevada."

Clinton recommended that Nevada take its case to the senators of every small state and "ask them how they would feel if this was being done to them."

He also said he was sympathetic to utility companies that are trying to remove the waste so they can generate more power. But, he stressed, the current solution is being promoted "in a superficial way."

"I just think it's a mistake. I don't think it can be justified on the merits," Clinton said.

After spending about 40 minutes answering questions, Clinton worked the crowd, signing autographs, posing for pictures with babies and shaking hands.

"I touched him," screamed Marcia Gomez, a nurse at University Medical Center who said she was thrilled to meet one of her personal heroes.

"I love him for all the things he talked about," said Gomez, who is black and who noted Clinton's commitment to racial equality.

During his speech -- interrupted 18 times by applause -- Clinton appeared most troubled when discussing the current battles between Israelis and Palestinians in the Middle East.

He said both sides are trapped in a "death lock" over what individual residents want and what their countrymen believe en masse. As a result, Clinton said, America must stay involved -- perhaps by sending in troops -- to validate the peace efforts.

Clinton also applauded the recent trip to the region by Secretary of State Colin Powell, saying he disagreed with preliminary reports calling his visit a failure.

"We have to start with the little steps," Clinton said.

He also talked briefly about his current life as Citizen Clinton -- a public servant who splits his time between speeches, fund-raisers, writing, planning his presidential library and promoting his foundation.

Clinton has given almost 200 speeches in 30 countries since leaving office, according to a recent article in Newsweek. The overseas speeches earn him between $200,000 and $300,000, with talks to American conferences and banquet appearances beginning at $125,000. Organizers declined to discuss the speaking fee.

Monday's speech, sponsored by the Greenspun family, which owns the Sun, was offered free. The lecture series, which has featured Carl Bernstein, Leslie Stahl and Hillary Clinton in recent years, is typically held in the 1,800-seat Ham Hall at UNLV.

But organizers knew Clinton could pack the 3,500-seat Cox Pavilion. When tickets quickly ran out for that venue, the event was moved to the Thomas & Mack Center -- with curtains blocking out more than half of the arena to give the speech a more intimate feel. A total of 6,500 tickets were distributed, with numerous state and local politicians grabbing VIP seats on the floor, and the public filling the general admission seats in the stands.

The majority of those in attendance Monday cheered wildly when Clinton took the stage and stood when he concluded his speech.

Although the former president was dogged by sexual scandals and impeachment, many in the crowd said they would vote for Clinton again if they could.

"He's the best president we'll ever have," said Corey Russell, who snapped a photo of his 6-month-old daughter, Carter, with Clinton.

Jessica Yatrofsky, a 20-year-old UNLV sophomore, said she found Clinton's remarks refreshingly honest.

"He didn't talk around the questions," she said. "He just came out and told it like it is. It's not the kind of vibe that I get from President Bush."