John Passacantando
Executive Director
Greenpeace
702 H Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001
Dear John:
With all due respect to yourself, and to the work of Greenpeace, we are writing this open letter to you, to ask the question, "Where is Greenpeace in the fight to stop the wrongful relicensing of antiquated and aging nuclear facilities?" As longtime clean energy advocates, we ask this question because as a nation, America is but a handful of reactors away from the proverbial tipping point of pursuing the dangerous path being laid out by the DOE's Nuclear 2010/GNEP.
For some time now, the battle cry of the environmental movement, of Greenpeace, has been to think globally but act locally. Unfortunately, at this stage, this fight cannot be won locally. The fight to stop the relicensing of dangerous reactors such as Entergy's Vermont Yankee, Pilgrim, and reactors 2 and 3 at the Indian Point site will require national involvement in a big way from Greenpeace, from the National Wildlife Federation, even the Sierra Club. There is no more, cannot be any more backing up and waiting for a better time to make our stand...the time is now, the fight will be won or lost during this the 110th Congress...the nuclear industry knows it, and one would assume that Greenpeace knows it. Sadly, other than token efforts and position papers, Greenpeace as the marquee player and pace setter within the Green movement seems to be largely absent from the battle as one local host community after another is mowed down by the NRC. That, however, doesn’t have to be the case.
I, and members of my community, would like to work in concert with Greenpeace before it is too late. With this in mind, we would like to know what Greenpeace is doing to push Congress to pass a bill demanding a full and complete safety and security assessment of every reactor in the United States. Is Greenpeace openly and publicly opposing the nuclear industry's wrong sighted plan known as "Nuclear Power 2010" that would help create a renaissance of the nuclear industry, and the sighting of as many as 400 fuzzy science reactors world wide with as many as 50 of them sited and built here in America? Where is Greenpeace in confronting Congressmen/women and Senators who pretend to be on our side, yet refuse to introduce safety and security assessment laws for the entire nuclear industry?
The time of sitting on the sidelines because the win is not assured has to end, and the national and international organizations led by Greenpeace need to step forward, and lead the fight, as the line has been drawn in the sand, and we fight now, or fold up our tents and go home. Small grassroots organizations and individuals such as myself and my, "Green Nuclear Butterfly" cannot win this fight locally; we are but cannon fodder without your help in this fight.
We must work as one team and go to Congress to demand that a national bill be passed in this 110th Congress that accomplishes the following: a) order a security and safety assessment (identical to the one done for Maine Yankee) at every nuclear reactor in the United States; b) implement a moratorium on all NRC relicensing activities and efforts until such time as every assessment has been completed; c) establish a ‘Blue Ribbon Committee’ that includes a member of a grassroots organization from every reactor host community in America to review the information and data from said assessments, and d) submit for consideration to the Congress a ‘Nuclear Industry Blue Ribbon Commission Report’ complete with recommendations for said Congress to adopt into law.
The moratorium would remain in full effect until such time as every recommendation of this commission was enacted into law. In this fashion, we have the national debate on Nuclear Reactors with all the cards honestly laid out on the table. As a part of this process, there should be informational meetings, and at least one public hearing for the purpose of taking citizen testimony in every community hosting a nuclear reactor, and or other facility related to or producing source materials for these reactors.
I, and the undersigned organizations, respectfully request a response from Greenpeace on these matters as quickly as possible. We need leadership and commitment from Greenpeace while we still have a chance to win this war.
Respectfully,
Green Nuclear Butterfly
CO-Signers Of Note
Michel Lee, Esq.
Chairman
Council on Intelligent Energy
& Conservation Policy
White Plains, New York 10602
Mitzi Bowman, Coordinator
Don't Waste Connecticut
Member of Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone
www.mothballmillstone.org
(203)389-2067
upthesun@cshore.com
Sherwood Martinelli, Peekskill, NY
roycepenstinger@aol.com
Remy G. Chevalier
www.rockthereactors.com
Evan Mulholland, South Royalton, Vt.
evanmulholland@yahoo.com
Gary Sachs, Brattleboro, Vt.
Keith Harmon Snow
413-626-3800
www.allthingspass.com
Sally Shaw
Gill, Massachusetts
Claire Chang
Citizens Awareness Network
www.nukebusters.org
Bryan Shaw
Westminster West Vermont.
RJ Haskins
Brattleboro Vermont
Coalition for a Nuclear Free Great Lakes
P.O. Box 331
Monroe, MI 48161
Michael J. Keegan
Don't Waste Michigan
6677 Summerview
Holland, MI 49424
Alice Hirt
Citizens' Resistance at Fermi Two
P.O. Box 463
Monroe, MI 48161
Keith Gunter
Wendy Brawer
New York, NY
George Crocker
North American Water Office
Lake Elmo, MN
Bruce Meland
Electrifying Times
Bend, OR
Matthew Shapiro
Citizens Environmental Coalition
Albany, NY
John Schaeffer
Real Goods
Hopland, CA
Harvey Wasserman
Author of Solartopia
Patty de Llosa
Author of The Practice of Presence
Connie Hogarth
Center for Social Action
Doug Moss
Publisher
E The Environmental Magazine
Scott Sklar
The Stella Group, Ltd.
David Bedell
Secretary
Fairfield County CT Green Party
Richard Duffee
CT Representative
US Green Party International Committee
Bruce K. Gagnon
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power
Paul H. Gavin, PhD, retired
pgavin@adelphia.net
Eleanor I.Gavin, RN, Retired
elliegavin@adelphia.net
Marilyn Elie
Westchester Citizens Awareness Network
Priscilla Feral
President
Friends of Animals
777 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
CC List
Congressman John Hall
Congressman Maurice Hinchey
Congresswoman Nita Lowey
Governor Eliot Spitzer
9 comments:
Please add my name to this letter:
Evan Mulholland of South Royalton, VT (evanmulholland@yahoo.com)
hello
please sign me on to your campaign to get Greenpeace to take this on.
Keith harmon snow
413 626 3800
www.allthingspass.com
Please add my name to this letter. Greenpeace should be involved with this issue. It is a far bigger issue than the divide and conquer approach that apparently works quite well for the nuclear industry and the NRC. This route may give those of us who choose a sustainable future a greater likelihood of victory. There is only gain to be made by signing on to this letter.
Gary Sachs Brattleboro, VT 05302
I have been a Greenpeace member for years now mainly because of their anti-nuke history. It is time that Greenpeace rises to this important cause. May Brattleboro Vermont and the surrounding area no longer be a nuclear sacrifice zone in the name of tainted profit.
Dear Sir, Madam,
Please add my name to this letter describing the Green Nuclear Butterfly Initiative. Having worked many decades in the industry, calculating the reload of the Combustion Engineering PWRs, I reluctantly have to admit that nuclear reactors, with all their good points, are not the future. The statistics recently released by BEIR VII commissioned by the National Academy of Science relating to the low level radiation effects, especially on women and children, and also the slight increase in strontium 90 in baby teeth are troubling. It is my desire to see the Combustion Engineering reactors and all reactors continue to perform well and be decommissioned at the end of their license period. If it seems safe to let them go a bit beyond, so be it, if confirmed by the NRC and an Independent Safety and Security Inspection. This could be allowed in order to have extra time to find enough affordable replacement power. Since VT Yankee supplies one third of Vermont’s power, this may be necessary in 2012, when it is slated to decommission.
I do not believe the Vermont Yankee should run at 120 percent power, without an Independent Safety and Security Inspection. This could and should happen as soon as possible. I am against a 20 year re-licensing that would allow this reactor to run to 2032. We have even read that Entergy is thinking of requesting 40 more years. An 80 year old vessel would be brittle by then. This is far too risky.
The BWR spent fuel rod pool, perched 70 feet above the ground, is a concern and should be secured from a terrorist attack from above, either by plane crashing into it or a bomb dropped into it.
It would be a waste of resources to build new reactors, with no place to store the nuclear waste, and when those resources would be better spent on efficiency and renewables and the commercialization of the best renewables, that will bring the atmospheric CO-2 levels into compliance with Kyoto standards and even below.
Paul H. Gavin, PhD, retired
pgavin@adelphia.net
Dear Sir, Madam,
Please add my name to the letter asking Greenpeace to back a national initiative to have Independent Safety and Security Inspection of all U.S. nuclear reactors. It is my fervent desire to see a stop to the wrongful relicensing of antiquated and aging nuclear facilities, this means PWR and BWR. This initiative is called the National Green Nuclear Butterfly Initiative, which was started by a person who lives near Indian Point.
Thank you for your efforts to help bring this legislation from a bill into law.
Eleanor I.Gavin, RN, Retired
elliegavin@adelphia.net.
Please add my name to this letter to Greenpeace.
Marilyn Elie
Westchester Citizens Awareness Network
Please add Friends of Animals to
this letter:
Priscilla Feral
President
Friends of Animals
777 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
feral@friendsofanimals.org
As having been affiliated with the NRC for a 10 year span in reguard to environmental impact studies upon some of their reactors on the east coast it is my conclusion that a study of their operations and inspectional methods should be under taken by an independant source as not to be influenced by big money or politics for I am aware of their stonewalling practises in hindering and keeping information from the general public and find that it would be in the best interests of Greenpeace to seek the truth (and alternative energy sources) reguarding some these potentially dangerous matters that will only get worse over time. LADD
Please add my name to this letter.
Alicia Moyer, West Townshend, VT
alimo@svcable.net
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