Letter: Inevitable nuke dump wasn’t an issue in election

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 | 9:03 a.m.

The smoke has finally cleared from a close, expensive and negative campaign but one has to be encouraged because the voter turnout was unprecedented and the people have spoken.

I have read columnists who say that with John Kerry's loss, we deserve the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and that if we do get it, we will have no one to blame but ourselves. I say, give the readers and voters a little more credit -- Yucca Mountain just wasn't an election issue.

Yucca Mountain opponents spent millions on a campaign that was based on falsehoods and fear. They tried to scare residents about the dangers of transportation with facts and figures that were false and misleading. I predict the waste will never go through Las Vegas. Rural Nevada is going to bear the burden of Yucca Mountain's transportation program. What needs to happen now is for rural Nevada to be provided with the best emergency response equipment and training. Also, any project-related facilities need to be located in rural Nevada.

A story in this paper said rural Nevada carried President Bush to victory. If that's the case, I applaud rural Nevada because its residents seem to be an independent bunch who separate the facts from the rhetoric.

One thing is clear: A nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain is ultimately inevitable. The question is: When will our elected officials and some in the media face that reality?

RYAN MOORE