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Some Utah Legislators want to approve the development of a nuclear plant in Green River. Everyone should be following the unfolding events of Fukushima with regards to the nuclear reactors there as a result of the devastating earthquake and tsunami. This should serve as a “wake up call” to advocates of nuclear energy development.
Join the continuing discussion on our Facebook page.
Filed under: Energy, Environment, Health, Legislators, Nuclear, Utah Legislature, Waste | 1 Comment »
Legislators are on the move this year to take control of Utah’s education system (SJR1 and SJR9). It seems that there are already steps being taken to write curriculum in the form of legislation.
Rep. Jack Draxler, R-Logan, is pushing legislation that would require educators to “consider” adding lessons into the curriculum about energy development, with the “Mineral and Petroleum Literacy Act”, HB25. The bill has passed the house and has moved on to the Senate.
Recommended by the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee, and, in Drexler’s mind, in an effort to “balance” the curriculum, the bill
seeks to “educate” children about mining and petroleum drilling. The funds for the program would come out of surplus mining profits….most Utah kids don’t know that oil, gas and coal contribute to their education, and to the state’s economy. “Most of them,” he[Drexler] said, “don’t know their iPods, their toothbrushes, their homes and their roads are all products of this kind of natural resource development.”
(Jillian Rayfield, TPMMuckracker, November 19, 2010, who adds “The plan, it seems, is to show young Utahans how great oil is.”)
It’s not enough that information about Utah is taught in elementary and middle school Utah Studies curriculum, including industries of the Beehive state. I t is speculated by some that legislators fear the knowledge that children are receiving in other curricular areas about energy and conservation.
The Salt Lake Tribune gives this bill a “thumbs down” to this piece of legislation:
Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Ogden, has convinced his colleagues in the House that Utah schoolchildren are learning too much about energy conservation and recycling and not enough about the benefits of drilling for gas and oil. We’re not sure why they see this as a scale that must be balanced. Somehow, they seem to fear, children will be persuaded that if conservation and recycling are good then energy development is bad. Draxler’s bill would allocate all-too-scarce dollars so that teachers can explain that Americans should continue to rely on and subsidize fossil fuels. If balance is needed, we’d like to also see an explanation of how burning carbon fuels and drilling for them are contributing to the air that’s so bad these same children can’t go outside at recess.
Not to mention education about the longevity of the natural resources being extracted and the impact to the ecosystems as a result of the degradation of the land.
The funding allocation is vague as well. While it is stated that monies would be generated from the surplus funds of the Oil and Gas Conservation Account, which is a fund that has a state mandated cap, it doesn’t say how much would be given from that and how much beyond the cap would need to come from Utah taxpayers.
This is a biased and unbalanced piece of legislation that has not brought all interests to the table for discussion.
Filed under: Curriculum, Education, Energy, Environment, taxes, Utah Legislature | Leave a Comment »
Governor Herbert delivered his first State of the State Address tonight. His priorities including keeping taxes from being raised, holding public education harmless from budget cuts, transportation, and legislative ethics reform.
For the first time in three years, we are expecting an increase in revenue for the upcoming fiscal year. Housing is beginning to stabilize, the state’s labor market is resilient and our unemployment rate remains below the national average. I know this is of small consolation to those who are out of work, but we will continue to make sound policy decisions to move this state – and your families – back to solid economic ground and toward a more hopeful future.
First and foremost, we must protect public and higher education.
Utah has long been committed to funding our public schools, our colleges and universities, and our technical institutions. In fact, few states in the country spend as much of their overall budgets on education as we do. Our unique demographics – which is a way of saying we have larger families – mean we must continue to increase funding to maintain and enhance the solid education and training our students receive.
In spite of our difficult budget situation, I call upon you, our great legislators, to maintain our current level of commitment to education!
Secondly, we must balance our budget responsibly, and in a way that does not stifle an economy that is finally beginning to show signs of recovery. We need to support our hard-working citizens and businesses, not stifle them with new tax burdens. We need to help them succeed, not hamper their success. And we need to think toward the future, not just of today.
Read the entire text of Governor Herbert’s State of the State address here.
Filed under: budget, Education, Energy, Ethics Reform, Governor, health care, higher education, Legislators, Property Taxes, Public Education, Small Business, taxes, Transportation, Utah Legislature | 1 Comment »
This group has put on its Creativity Gloves for these final days of the Utah Legislature. I plan to attend.
Nuclear ReACTION and Visual Cacophony invite you to:
THE PEOPLE’S BRIBE
Tuesday, March 10th, 5pm
Capitol RotundaWe send frantic emails to our representatives. We call night and day. We come to the capitol to speak to them in person (even submitting our bodies to neckties, heels, nylons, in the hope that if we don’t look like tree-huggers, students, or stay-at-home moms, they might not ignore us).
But somehow they’re not hearing it. Instead of keeping campaign promises of openness, transparency, and ethics reform–and instead of listening to the voice of the people in determining policy–again and again our legislators side with The Money. The corporations and
political action committees which fund the campaigns are the ones who determine the votes, leaving high-minded words like “democracy” behind in the dust.Well, we’ve learned our lesson. At 5pm on Tuesday, March 10th, hundreds of us will gather at the Capitol Rotunda. We will come armed with dollar bills, which we will leave in a pile in the middle of the Capitol Rotunda. We are asking our representatives to accept our bribe, and please begin voting in accordance to the will of the
people.We will have cards there, which you can tape to each dollar bill and write your request to a specific legislator. We will leave our bribe money in the middle of the capitol building as long as possible: even if it’s removed, the legislature won’t be able to spend it or give it back. Remember, they throw away your letters, but they can’t legally throw away money.
Please join us for one moment of revelry amidst a dreary legislative session.
Kate Savage
savaging@gmail.com
Nuclear ReACTIONp.s. Costuming is always appreciated: please come dressed as the lobbyist of your choice (for example the Lorax as the Tree’s Lobbyist, or a sun or windmill as the Renewable Energy Lobbyist).
Filed under: budget, Energy, Environment, Nuclear, Utah Legislature | Leave a Comment »
Governor Huntsman is expected to veto the Foreign Waste Bill
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. says he will veto any attempt by the Legislature and EnergySolutions to bring foreign radioactive waste into the state.
Huntsman said he told legislative leaders “in no uncertain terms” that he would reject a profit-sharing proposal the company has discussed with legislative and community leaders.
GOP lawmakers aren’t worried, though:
Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said Huntsman’s veto threat won’t deter lawmakers from exploring the idea, but it does change the math.
Any proposal brought forward would have to be able to overcome Huntsman’s opposition, meaning it would need support from two-thirds of the Legislature.
Opponents of the bill praised Huntsman:
“EnergySolutions has bought the Delta Center [naming rights], hours of air time and is now going for the state of Utah. Thank goodness that Governor Huntsman has proven that he can’t be bought, and Utah can’t be sold,” said Vanessa Pierce, executive director of the Health Environment Alliance of Utah. “Now it’s time for the Legislature to prove the same.”
U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said in a statement Tuesday that he was “outraged that Utah legislators would even consider allowing our state to become the universal dumping ground for the world’s nuclear garbage.”
HEAL Utah has issued this action alert:
Energy Solutions wants to make a deal. Exploiting the economic recession to turn a bigger profit, the company is offering to pay us off if we’ll only let them open Utah’s doors to the world’s nuclear waste.
When we first learned about the deal, brokered in secret between EnergySolutions and Utah legislators, we were caught speechless.
Thankfully, Gov. Huntsman came to our aid today: “Our position is abundantly clear. Let’s just say that the price the state pays for being a dumping ground lasts forever. The recession will not.”
And Congressman Matheson certainly wasn’t at a loss for words: “I am outraged that Utah legislators would even consider allowing our state to become the universal dumping ground for the world’s nuclear garbage and I know most Utahns share my anger.”
We share the Congressman’s anger, as well as the Governor’s resolve. Unfortunately, the Utah State Legislature appears poised to sell us out for EnergySolutions’ money, unless they hear from us now!
Please take a minute to contact the leadership of the Utah Senate and House. We need to send a message immediately that Utahns will not become the world’s nuclear waste dump in exchange for EnergySolutions’ cash. Despite the Governor’s and the majority of Utahn’s clear opposition, some legislators are saying that we “need to move fast” to pass EnergySolutions’ indecent proposal.
Please call House and Senate leaders to register your opposition to the plan today:
-Senate President Michael Waddoups (R-West Valley): 801-967-0225, mwaddoups@utahsenate.org
-House Speaker David Clark (R-Santa Clara): 435-628-5108, dclark@utah.gov
Click here for a sample message you can leave: http://healutah.org/nuclearutah/waste/energysolutions/IndecentProposal
If these legislators don’t hear from Utahns, they will act fast to pass out EnergySolutions plan–so please call or email today!
After contacting these legislators, please also take a minute to call Gov. Huntsman at 801-538-1000 and thank him for his continued opposition to EnergySolutions’ foreign nuclear waste plans. Gov. Huntsman deserves praise for his leadership and willingness to stand up for Utahns on this issue, and he needs to know we are fully behind him. His opposition has been critical to keeping foreign nuclear waste out of our state and will be even more critical should the legislature attempt to sell out Utah for EnergySolutions’ dirty money. (The Governor’s office is open 7:30AM to 6:00PM, M-Th).
Perhaps as Steve Creamer was buying up TV spots and lavishing money on legislators, he forgot one very important thing: Utah is NOT for sale. Please help us send this important message to the Utah House and Senate.
For those of you who want to know how the Senate Committee hearing on pro-nuclear legislation SJR016 went, please click here: http://healutah.org/nuclearRes
Matheson, guv blast foreign nuke waste profit splitting scheme: http://healutah.org/news/energysolutions/021809-0
Filed under: Energy, Waste | Leave a Comment »
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