President Bashar al-Assad of Syria certainly deserves the world's condemnation for using chemical weapons against his own people. But before the United States responds militarily, let it be established beyond any reasonable doubt that he did in fact do this. And then why not let NATO and the United Nations Security Council decide how to respond?
In the meantime, it is troubling to imagine what steps the United States is considering to take on its own.
Based upon previous interventions, we might be talking cruise missiles, Depleted Uranium munitions, cluster bombs, phosphorus, napalm, or an abbreviated version of “shock and awe.”
I find it offensive that President Obama is arguing that unless we do something, America's “credibility” will be challenged.
During this Earth Day 2013 season, let us take some time to slow down, catch our breath, and begin to believe that we can finally be sensible and caring enough to stop our civilization's stampede over the environmental cliff. I hope it's not news that all seven billion of...
I have long wondered why the consideration of morality has not assumed a prominent role in the debate about Vermont Yankee. After all, does not the fissioning of nuclear fuel lead to the production of high-level radioactive waste material, otherwise known as “spent fuel” or irradiated fuel that will...
On this year's Martin Luther King Day, let us be mindful of King's words that “[d]arkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” In his honor, let us believe that the human adventure on planet Earth will not end in ashes, but in jubilation; that the imperative to love our neighbor will be practiced as naturally as breathing in and breathing out. Let us believe that the smiles...
Despite what we hear from our pro-Vermont Yankee neighbors, nuclear power is nasty stuff. Its genealogy can be traced back to the two atomic bombs the United States dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killing approximately 214,000 people. The resulting black eye for the U.S. prompted the development of a “peaceful atom” initiative that would use nuclear fission to boil water into steam to operate turbines to generate electricity. It was going to be power “too cheap to meter.”
Vermont Yankee has a new ad campaign: “When it comes to safety, it's time to let the facts speak for themselves.” We're told that Vermont Yankee has been safely providing electricity for 39 years, that safety and security systems are operational at all times, that personnel receive safety training, and that two NRC inspectors work on site. So far, so good. But here are some other safety-related facts: Fact: Vermont Yankee uses a General Electric Boiling Water Reactor with Mark...
Bravo! Great editorial [“Entergy to Vermont: See you in court,” The Commons, Feb. 16]. Very clear and concise. It's exactly what we need to understand about Entergy's duplicity. It clarifies how solid Vermont's case is against allowing continued operation beyond March 21, 2012. Thanks.
Most of us have heard of Easter Island, that remote place in the South Pacific where giant-headed stone statues stare forlornly out to sea. In its story, there may be a message for us today. Archeologists and paleontologists, using carbon dating and pollen analysis, determined that the island was first settled about 400 A.D. Settlers arrived in a subtropical paradise with abundant resources. By about 1400, the island was deforested. With deforestation went the wood needed for cookfires, shelter, seafaring...