Greenpeace

Well, somehow this cloudy day seems a little brighter as we look back on yesterday's victory up here in Vermont. Yesterday a whopping 26 members of the 30-member state Senate voted against continuing the license at Vermont Yankee Nuclear Plant for another 20 years after its scheduled closing in 2012. This is a huge victory for Vermonters and our clean energy future.



It was an epic day in many respects, and a testament to the strength of democracy here in Vermont. Hundreds jammed the statehouse, having traveled in terrible blizzard conditions to witness the Senate’s historic vote and make sure senators were hearing from their constituents. As the debate was underway, Senate pages scurried around delivering scores of messages from citizens to senators as they deliberated on the floor. In a memorable moment just before the vote, Senator Choate said, “Just in the past three hours I've been delivered 50 to 60 pink slips.” Our volunteers in the state house were working non-stop to make sure voters were contacting their Senators.

Every walk of life was represented there, farmers, schoolteachers, students young and old, business people, and activists who have been fighting the plant since before its construction. It was an inspiring moment for democracy as we saw the true power of grassroots action. When people stand up, raise their voices and organize we can win big victories for the planet and our neighbors. As we traveled around the state holding volunteer meetings, generating calls, letters, and emails, talking to business people, and learning from long-time community members the response was overwhelming.

When I was in Ludlow with a volunteer knocking on doors, one man asked why we were collecting letters. We explained that a group of citizens was meeting with a Senator the next day. “When, where?” he asked, and then showed up at 8:30AM on a Saturday to make sure his Senator would vote the right way. So did 24 other people; and the Senator had no choice. She voted no.

These stories are not unique, the vote yesterday was by a citizen legislature that listens to its people, and Greenpeace has worked hard to make sure those voices are heard. Our volunteers were tireless and committed, our goals were high, but we have just won a huge victory for the planet. Vermonters are tired of sitting in the shadow of this leaky old reactor and getting lied to and swindled by Entergy Louisiana.

The fight isn’t over. Entergy is a powerful corporation and has said they’re not done, and we aren’t either. Now we want to see the House show the same courage as the Senate and vote this session to retire Vermont Yankee. The vote yesterday was the first time a state legislative body has voted to retire a nuclear plant; we want the House to be the second.

This vote also sends a strong message to the nation and the world that the nuclear renaissance is dead on arrival. President Obama: Vermont knows that nuclear energy can’t be a part of our energy future. We need investments in renewable sources of energy to power our future and put people back to work. The US can follow Vermont’s leadership to the energy revolution America needs.

No Nukes (new or old)!

Jarred Cobb and John Deans
Vermont Organizers

The last time we updated you all on the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant our air division was making a splash with the “One World” hot air balloon. We had toured around Vermont raising awareness of the issue and hearing from Vermonters directly that they are ready to shut this dinosaur down. Since then we have been working hard on the ground to get the messages of Vermonters to lawmakers in Montpelier.

We have drawn heavily on Vermont Yankee’s history of mismanagement and accidents in the past, and the plant has once again messed up.  This time around they have leaked a substantial amount of radioactive hydrogen, known as tritium, into the groundwater surrounding the reactor. This has been a remarkable revelation considering that less than a year ago the plant’s chief Engineer, David McElwee, told state officials that a leak was impossible because the pipes did not exist and that he considered “this issue closed.”

It also appears that not only were their statements inaccurate, but that they actually knew there were pipes carrying radionuclides and were intentionally misleading lawmakers and regulators. This shows that we can't trust this plant or its owner, Entergy. The tritium levels in the groundwater near the plant have been found to be above federal drinking water standards, and Cobalt-60 and Zinc-65 (both much more radioactive than Tritium) have started showing up in tests.  Yankee sits on the Connecticut River, and an elementary school is right across the street, so these radioactive leaks have public health implications. On top of health and safety the presence of tritium is likely to increase the cost of decommissioning several hundred million dollars, a cost that could end up being dredged from the pocket books of Vermonters.

To ice their deception cake the discovery of the tritium leak was preceded by a new Vermont Yankee ad campaign in December where the company set their employees up as human shields. They were hoping to present the positive face of the workers who love the plant, but their original cast included the very same chief engineer who had lied about the underground pipes. At some point in the last couple of weeks the company realized their mistake and took the profile for David McElwee off their site. On further examination we noticed that they had also edited the profile of another employee, Beth Bristol, who is McElwee’s daughter. They removed the part about that said “she couldn’t be happier working side by side with her dad.”
See the ad changes here

We have known for a long time that this plant was not safe, clean, or reliable, but now we are seeing that Vermonters are getting fed up. Can we trust this company for the next 20 years? No. The only answer now is for the state legislature to vote against relicensing, that’s what Greenpeace and Vermonters all over are asking for now. We’re not happy that the company is leaking radioactive materials into the ground, nor are we happy that they lied about the pipes that are the likely source, but we are happy that we know about it now and are getting closer and closer to making Phil’s new year resolution come true as Entergy continues to shoot themselves in the foot.