Letter to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Letter to the Editor

Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev, and others of the anti-Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, are doing the great state of Nevada, and southern Nevada in particular, a great disservice. Clearly with unemployment at a record high since the Great Depression, and state funding for education being asked to take another 10% cut, moving forward with the repository could be a great boon for the area and the State. Senator Reid, and others, have not considered how a change in the mission of the repository could be used to bring hundreds of millions of dollars and many jobs into the area, as well as bolster higher education initiatives here in southern Nevada. The nation suffers from inadequate supplies of cheap energy—energy needed to drive industry, commerce, and improve our overall quality of life. While much is said about “green” energy initiatives and programs, use of nuclear power has been almost absent from the discussion until the President mentioned it in his State of The Union Address. Locally, most individuals do not realize that most nuclear waste can be recycled into useful fuel for reactors and that the U.S. has taken only baby steps toward other possible uses for spent nuclear fuel. Brining the waste product here and converting the mission of the repository to one of recycling and new use engineering efforts could lay the foundation for whole new industries attracting worldwide interest, not to mention a healthy flow of dollars for our economy, and funding for UNLV for scientific research. What limitations are currently known about spent nuclear fuel are minor compared to what many in nuclear science believe we can do with the waste as a recycled material. That southern Nevada could be the home of a new science and vibrant industry has apparently never crossed the minds of our elected representatives or those who argue for increase industry and tax diversification for a languishing state. Perhaps we should begin to think outside the box on this issue, recognize and use the investment made in Yucca Mountain thus far to our mutual advantage and challenge ourselves to make something very useful out of something very problematic. We went to the moon in a decade of intense and dedicated effort having little of the science or know how when the quest began. Is it not possible to repeat such an effort focused on nuclear waste?

New Year, New Opportunities

I started this blog as an experiment about this time last year. It failed terribly. Not only did I not maintain it with current posts and updates to my profile, but I generally forgot about it. Now I'm not going to promise myself, or any of the four people who are following this, that this year will be better, though today I'm inclined to think it might be so. The reason for this is that I have grown a bit since this time last year, and I am fully embracing the New Year and the new opportunities that come with it! Over this past year I have learned a few things about myself that I had never fully recognized before--I love to write and to express myself using the written word. Yes it's true, I find I have a very limited vocabulary, but I think to myself, that's OK, I'm writing for everyone, not just intellectuals or the high minded types seeking a bit of reality! I have also discovered that I can be a little bit funny in what I write; that at the right time, and given the right circumstances, a bit of humor comes through that is both refreshing and needed--especially when the subject is something like our current President, Mr. Obama! Heaven knows we could all use a bit of humor when we see the likes of him flash across the TV screen or on the front page of the newspaper. His charm and gift for oratory stirs something deep inside of me--I think it's a kidney stone! I have also learned that when I set my mind to accomplishing a few great things, great things do in fact happen, and that's what has me most excited of all. So, I guess to sum up this bit of New Years wisdom, I'm committing myself to do some good things this year, all with a bit of planning behind such, and the dedication needed to see through what I've started. I'll update what the results are as they happen--this much I can do!

And so, I send this out to the wide world of bloggers and blog readers, not knowing if anyone is paying attention. I'm paying attention to what I need to be doing to make 2010 a really good year for me and my family. If it turns out half as good as 2009, we will have a very good year indeed--and just maybe, if you're tuning in to this blog, you'll read about it as it happens.

Happy New Year!