AZ Politics

There is a good deal of controversy in the environmental movement regarding how to continue generating energy to maintain our economic well-being while cutting or eliminating the energy industry’s heavy carbon footprint (roughly 40% of carbon emissions are related to energy generation). There are some in the environmental movement, not to mention those in the nuclear industry, who point to nuclear power as a way to reduce carbon emission from the energy sector.

It is true that nuclear generation of electricity itself is not a significant source of carbon emissions, but there are serious economic feasibility, safety, and environmental issues, in addition to carbon emissions associated with the entire life-cycles of nuclear fuels and generation plants.

Southern Arizona is blessed with a number of experts on the industry and its environmental impacts. MyCommentary, records the viewpoints of local activists and concerned citizens. The project brings us the video commentaries of two local nuclear activists, Russell Lowes, and Jack Cohen-Joppa. I share those commentaries with you here:

Commentary by Mr. Cohen-Joppa

Commentary by Mr. Lowes

In addition, the local public affairs program, Political Perspectives with Cynthia Dickstein, covered the nuclear issue recently with Jack Cohen-Joppa and Russell Lowes as her guests. They were joined by Arizona environmental justice advocate Steve Brittle for a panel discussion that constitutes an excellent primer on this topic.

More after the click…

Hayden, Arizona is a small company town with one industry – the ASARCO copper smelter. This is one of the nation’s top polluters. ASARCO has admitted in public reports its releases into Hayden’s air of thousands of tons of arsenic, lead, barium, copper, zinc, and sulfuric acid over the years. It is now proposed that Hayden be declared an EPA Superfund site, but the company, and elements of the town and county government, are determined to resist.

ASARCO has left a trail of environmental contamination with over $1 billion in environmental cleanup liability around the country. When faced with the costs of these cleanups, the company instead filed for bankruptcy.

Governor Napolitano has to concur with the decision to list Hayden as a
Superfund site and will decide by September 20th. But given the actions
of ADEQ, obviously intended to sell out the community, she needs to
hear from everyone that she should concur with the EPA’s proposal to
designate the area a Superfund site. The people of Hayden need
everyone’s help to prevent them from their continuing toxic nightmare.

Please contact Governor Janet Napolitano by mail, phone, and/or fax, and urge her to concur with the EPA’s proposal to list the town of Hayden as a Superfund site.

Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381

More about the story of ASARCO’s history in Hayden and the effort to clean up ASARCO’s mess after the click…

Tim Bee is being very cagey and playing a delicate game by refusing to resign his Arizona Senate seat even as he admittedly raises significant funding for a race against Gabby Giffords for Arizona’s CD8 Congressional seat. Bee is arguably on safe legal ground under state law, but the office he seeks is governed by … Read more

Linda Brown from Azadvocacy.org needs volunteers! 30,000 voter registration forms bounced by the counties. Terry Goddard says they need to prove citizenship. Though there is no evidence that fraudulent voting has ever happened, the GOP has used this red herring to create an additional hurdle that people who wish to exercise their right to vote … Read more

In the wee overnight hours tonight, the earth’s shadow will pass across the moon. Below is a chart that will help people in any the Mountain time zone know when to step outside (or set the alarm) and take in the spectacle.