Too Tough On Riverkeeper? We THINK NOT...

HELLO RIVERKEEPER... NOTICE THE LOCATION OF INDIAN POINT... ON THE HUDSON

tisk, tisk, tisk...gauging by a few emails in my box this morning, seems a few folks think I was a wee bit too tough on Riverkeeper, and their narrow minded BLUE BLOOD donors. The general tenor of the notes were, "Riverkeeper does a lot of good work, and we should all be working as a team, rather than being divisive." So, let me see if I have this straight...environmental groups raising millions for their pet little projects who leave certain industry alone, or put forth a token effort of opposition should get a free pass for ducking the hard issues, should be allowed to pass Go and collect $200 even though they have no back bone? Shaking my head in disdain as I envision the conversation now..."Why Buffy, for whatever reason is this man attacking us, didn't we raise some $150,000 last year at our Hampton's Regatta to benefit "Save the Dunes at Our Favorite Place To Go For a Stroll?"

Give me a BREAK...we have an organization in Riverkeeper that counts among it's key players people from some of the wealthiest families on the East Coast, if not in all of America...am I wrong in thinking Patty Hearst's decedent's are now on the board, and just how much money is she sitting on? Yet, if you look at Riverkeeper's own letter to the faithful touting their MAJOR efforts for 2006, there is no mention of Entergy, no mention of Indian Point...curious here, does the Riverkeeper get funding from Entergy, or other companies incestuously tied into the Nuclear Industry? A leaking spent fuel rod holding facility LEAKING hundreds of thousands of gallons of cancer causing radioactive materials into the Hudson River, and Riverkeeper and it's board are NOT UP IN ARMS? Indian Point should have been at the TOP OF THEIR LIST, yet not even and honorable mention in the organizations "Major Strides" list

Riverkeeper Major Strides List:

Riverkeeper discovered toxic soil gases in Greenpoint, Brooklyn resulting from the country’s largest oil spill, prompting the New York State Attorney General’s office to aggressively pursue remediation by Exxon-Mobil while Riverkeeper’s suit against them continues.

Riverkeeper teamed with Columbia University School of Architecture’s Urban Design Program in a semester-long studio examining issues relating to water, design and urban planning along the Yonkers Waterfront.

Riverkeeper’s helicopter patrol of the Hudson River resulted in the serving of a notice of intent to sue St. Lawrence Cement for a mile-long plume of pollution emanating from their cement plant and visible only from the air.

As stated, not one mention of Indian Point, and if you read further in their propaganda letter to the FAITHFUL, you'll be amazed to learn that Indian Point and it's ruination of the Hudson River IS NOT A PART of Riverkeeper's self important list of their SIX CORE AREAS...any one else see the humor in their use of the word CORE in that descriptor? By their own admission, they have a powerhouse of attorneys yet have they filed a lawsuit to gain access to the underlying documents that make up the siting or security assessments...this particular stakeholder believes we in the Circle of Death should know what our real risks are, but apparently Riverkeeper is fine with these documents being kept out of the public domain...in fact, if their inattention to Indian Point is an example, they seem to be fine with letting Entergy win re licensing of the facility...sure, maybe they'll trot out a dog and pony show of token resistance, maybe even hold a token Indian Point fund raiser or two, perhaps and afternoon tea at the "Stone Barns",then divert the money to more pressing issues such as a safe yachting brochure? I can hear Katharine Hepburn chiding her fellow blue bloods now, "Without discipline, there's no life at all"

The various and assorted grassroots network deserves better than this from Riverkeeper and other groups who supposedly care about the Hudson River, and if they cannot do better, perhaps the time has come to form a new coalition willing to take on the tough job of shutting down Indian Point?