I MMOMMMON"
Eighty-Seven Years of Editorial Freedom
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Nuclear power grave threat
to healthyhuman existence
Tuesday, September 21, 1976
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
ieria IndianDay?'
By HARVEY WASSERMAN
Last of a Four-Part Series
GOVERNOR WILLIAM MILLIKEN
has declared September 24 as
"American Indian Day" in Michigan.
Said Milliken, "All aspects of the Na-
tive American's existence - agricul-
tural, government, trade, religion,
art and economics - influenced the
white man at one time or another
and helped shape the destiny of ev-
ery nation in the Western Hemis-
phere."
Now we realize; do you get the
impression that maybe we're just
a little bit s-l-o-w? Somebody surely
is, but enough of that. What's done
is done, the past is the past - but
proclaiming an "American Indian
Day" holds no substance unless some
positive moves are made to improve
the lot of one of this country's most
oppressed minorities.
The Native American, however
many are left in this country of ours,
Editorial Staff
Milliken
Rob Meachum.................
Co-Editors-in-Chief
Bill Turque
Jeff Ristine.................. Managing Editor
Tim Schick.Executive Editor
Stephen Hersh...............Magazine Editor
Rob Meachum........Editorial Director
Lois Josimovich.E.Arts Editor
STAFF WRITERS: Susan Ades, Dana Bauman,
Michael Beckman, Dana Bauman,James Burns,
Jodi Dimick, Elaine Fletcher, Mark Friedlander,
Tom Godell, Kurt Harju, Charlotte Heeg, Rich-
ard James, Tom Kettler, Chris Kochmanski,
Atephen Kursnman, Jay Le~vin, Ann Marie Lip-
inski, George Lobsenz, Pauline Lubens, Ter
Maneau, Maureen Nolan, Mike Norton, Jon
Pansius, Kim Potter, Cathy Reutter, Ann Marie
Schiavi, Karen Schulkins, Jeff Selbst, Rock
Sobel, Tom Stevens, Steve Stofic, Cathi Suyak,
Jim Tobin, Jim Valk, Margaret Yao, Andrew
Zerman.
Sports Staff
Bill Stieg ......................... Sports Editor
Rich Lerner ........... Executive Sports Editor
Andy Glazer............ Managing Sports Editor
Rick Bonino.............Associate Sports Editor
NIGHT EDITORS: Tom Cameron, Enid Goldman,
Kathy Henneghan, Scott Lewis, Rick Maddock,
Bob Miller, John Niemeyer, Mark Whitney.
STAFF WRITERS: Leslie Brown, Paul Campbell,
Marybeth Dillon, Ernie Dunbar, Henry Engel-
hardt, Jeff Frank, Cindy Gatziolis, Don Mac-
Lachlan, Rich Ovshinsky, Jim Powers, Pat Rode,
John Schwartz.
Business Staff
Beth Friedman.......Business, Manager
Deborah Dreyfuss.........Operations Manager
Kathleen Mulhern ........ Advertising Manager
David Harlan ................. Finance Manager
Dan Blugerman................Sales Manager
Pete Peterson...........Advertising Coordinator
Cassie St. Clair ............ Circulation Manager
Beth Stratford..............Circulation Director
Photography Staff
PAULINE LUBENS ......... . . Chief Photographer
SCOTT ECCKER ............ Staff Photographer
ALAN BILINSKY.............Staff Photographer
can now rejoice in such resognition
as provided by the gracious governor.
They can now sit back on the reser-
vation and swig some whisky and do
a little philosophizing - all with the
knowledge that Great White Master
Milliken is looking out for their wel-
fare. They can now appreciate what
they've done for America, alright,
and appreciate what America has
done for them.
INSTEAD OF American Indian Day,
there should be an American Ignor-
amus Day, to throw much needed
light on all the stupid, bullheaded,
greedy, unconcerned, blind, incor-
rigible mental munchkins that pass-
ed for gentlemen and gentlewomen
in the days of the Wild West, when
"savages" were considered a disgust-
Ing fource to be severely reckoned
with.
Back to the subject at hand, how-
ever. We find that not much has
changed; Native Americans are still
getting the shaft, those who haven't
been "Americanized," but that doesn't
really seem to matter anymore.
What does matter is that we Insist
at attempting gracious divinity by
nroclaiming "American Indian Day".
Let's do away with such silly holi-
davs that tend to remind that the
past was glorious - which it wasn't-
snd concentrate instead on never al-
lowing such things as the cruel re-
nrecsion of the Native American to
ever hannen again.
Editorial positions represent a
consensus of the Daily staff.
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: George Lobsenz, Jeff Ristine,
Tim Schick
Editorial Page: Rob Meachum, Keith
Richburg, Tom Stevens
Arts Page: Lois Josimovich
Photo Technician: Pauline Lubens
WHEN NUCLEAR POWER was first
being promoted in this country, de-
velopers advertised that it would eventu-
ally be "too cheap to meter."
Unfortunately, it hasn't worked that
way. In fact, there are now serious ques-
tions about whether or not nuclear pow-
er plants will ever repay their capital
investment, let alone produce cheap elec-
tricity. Soaring material, construction,
and fuel costs combined with stagger-
ing inefficiency and unreliability have
made nuclear power plants an extreme-
ly questionable investment.
Environmental Costs
In years past Americans have as-
sumed that the natural environment has
no money value. Air, water and land
have been polluted at will, with no cost
accounting for such details as dead birds,
devastated eco-systems and a world full
of cancer-causing pollutants.
Now, however, the true costs are be-
ginning to dawn. In the case of nuclear
power, they are particularly important.
ALL NUCLEAR PLANTS use gigantic
quantities of water for cooling. The water
is taken from lakes, rivers and the
ocean, funnelled around the core, and
returned to the environment significant-
ly hotter than it went in. This process
has violently disrupted many marine eco-
systems, resulted in massive fish kills,
and bringing on disasterous environmen-
tal skewing. Some nuclear promoters
have argued that the introduction of
hot water can improve fish yields and
promote marine growth, but even at
that plants have operated so unreliably
that the real effect has been a hot-cold-
hot-cold syndrome that is a powerful
destroyer of environmental balance.
In addition, many plants are equipped
with cooling towers that throw off huge
quantities of steam, steam that will al-
most certainly result in severe unbal-
ancing of weather patterns. Furthermore,
many operators treat the steam with
chemicals geared to prevent the growth
of algae in the towers. The chemicals
do the job but are then spread into
the environment to join the rest of the
chemical residues in defacing the land-
scape.
ALL THAT ADDS UP TO a deteriora-
tion of the environment whose money
costs are impossible to calculate, but
which must ultimately be quite signifi-
cant in terms of agricultural deficien-
cies, health problems and, of course, the
degradation of life itself.
Nukes Don't Pay
On a more mundane dollars- and-
cents level, nuclear plants are proving
to be an economic disaster. A general
rule of thumb has been that nuclear
plants must generate at 80% capacity
for 10 years just to pay back their in-
itial capital investment. American plants
have operated significantly below that
80% figure ever since they started. Late-
ly the industry has been toying with
the basic figures, but the fact remains
that as of now the performance level
of nuclear plants has been miserable.
In addition, the required initial in-
vestment has been soaring. Material
costs have been rising at a minimum
of 10% per year. Delays, unexpected
cost hikes and a myriad of other prob-
lems have combined to push the price
of a nuclear kilowatt into the range
of $800, nearly twice the cost of con-
structing coal-fired plants today. The
cost of nuclear construction is expect-
ed to soon reach the $1,000/kilowatt
level and some think it may go as
high as $1,500.
AT THOSE PRICES, natural. energy
is cost competitive with nuclear right
now.
A Uranium Crisis?
There is the additional problem with
fuel. Uranium is a tightly monopolized
commodity, and its price has been doub-
ling every year. It is not expected to
go down, or even to level off in the
near future.
Nor is the preparation for use being
simplified. That famous ad where you
see a small pellet of uranium lined up
against six coal cars is a gross decep-
tion. It costs billions to build enrich-
ment plants, and the process of pre-
paring uranium for use in a nuclear
reactor is phenominally expensive and
increasingly difficult to manage. In fact
there is real question as to whether
enrichment facilities will be able to keep
ip with demand. Westinghouse recent-
ly defaulted on an across-the-board
pledge to provide nuclear fuel, and the
future of enriched uranium is not prom-
ising.
Natural Energy Now
What all that adds up to is the fact
that nuclear-generated electricity is ex-
pensive is some cases far more expen-
sive that hydro, coal and even oil sourc-
es. And the prospects are that it will
go up in price for a long time before
it dips, if it ever does.
BECAUSE OF THEIR dubious eco-
nomics, nuclear projects have been de-
layed and cancelled all across the coun-
try. The solution for the nuclear indus-
try has been to turn to the Federal
government for subsidies.
Now the question arises as to wheth-
er such a grotesque assault on our
health, our environment and our econ-
omy is necessary.
Despite a well-financed campaign to
the contrary, solar, wind,tidal and geo-
thermal energy are ready now to move
on line in this country. They are all
within range of nuclear cost-efficiency,
and could be developed if the money
were taken out of nuclear and resched-
uled into natural.
In addition,rit is long since time
that Americans came to grips with the
fact that they are energy hogs. We are
6% of the world's population consum-
ing 33% of its energy. There is tre-
mendous waste and gluttony in our en-
ergy budget. In 1974 a Ford Foundation
Report showed that with minimal con-
servation efforts, the U.S. could cut its
energy consumption growth rate in half,
thus eliminating the "need" for nuclear
power plants. A simple measure like
recycling bottles can result in enormous
other conservation efforts, undercut the
entire nuclear sales pitch. The United
States is rich and comfortable enough
to afford - if necessary - a period
of zero energy growth while nuclear
power plants are phased out and natural
energy generators phased in.
SUCH A PROGRAM would create
millions of additional jobs and would
place the United States economy on an
infinitely healthier and more reliable
footing. Natural energy is labor-inten-
sive rather than capital-intensive, and
is posited on a fuel that is inexhausti-
ble and free.
Indeed, that latter attribute is nat-
ural energy's most serious barrier. The
powerful corporate interests that have
invested billions in nuclear technology
as well as coal, gas and oil - have
a very clear interest in maintaining the
system on scarce fuel that they can
control and centrallize. Until Exxon and
Bechtel find a way to charge us for
using the sun and wind, they can be
counted on to fight natural energy all
the way.
The real barriers to a natural-based
energy economy in America are not
technological. There are enough patents
buried in corporate files, and enough dis-
coveries gone wanting for proper fund-
ing, to put have put this country into
onto a sun-wind-tidal-geothermal basis
long ago.
NUCLEAR PLANTS may soon price
themselves into extinction.
But that can be guaranteed only by
a grass roots movement capable of block-
ing Federal subsidies, imposing the nec-
essary building standards, and making
the ultimate correlations between envi-
romental destruction and corporate
profits.
The issues of nuclear power may seem
complex on the surface.
But at the core they are old stand-
bys. Big company arrogance versus real
human need. Profits versus people.
You don't need General Electric to
know which way the wind blows.
energy savings that, in concert
with
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Contact your reps
Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem.), 253 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep.), 353 Russell Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
Rep. Marvin Esch (Rep.), 2353 Rayburn Bldg., Capitol Hill,
Washington, D.C. 20515.
Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep.), Senate, State Capitol Bldg.,
Lansing, MI 48933
Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem.), House of Representatives, State
Capitol Bldg., Lansing, MI 48933.
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RENT STRIKES:
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By ROBERT MILLER fers tenan
N ANN ARBOR Tenants high rents,
nion counsel tenants on discrimina
basic legal rights while ing shortag
izing renters into locals the above.
e Union so they can bar- Tenants
collectively with their land- legal righ
to improve rental condi- rent if the
"Tenant Unionism" of- maintenan
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landlords be
ts a program to end ment of the lease, or does not i
shoddy maintenance, keep the apartment up to hous- a
tion, and the hous- ing code standards. Besides s
ge which exacerbates couselling tenants on how to c
withhold rent, the AATU of- e
in Michigan have the fers renters information on se- c
t to withhold their curity deposit laws, illegal evic-
landlord does not do tions, and the responsibilities l
ce, violates an agree- of landlords. a
When people speak to TU s
counsellors, they are often en- h,
couraged to organize other ten- b
ants of the same landlord. Ten- c
ants gain power through unity, t
while individuals can be picked s
off one by one. A Tenants Un- a
ions, based on the labor union g
model, with membership control m
and solidarity among tenants,
can end landlord abuse.
io
THE AATU HAS organized th
three rent strikes in the past c
year. Tenants of Trony Asso- in
ciates won a new lease with a e
better maintenance policy, rent f
rebates, a one year rent freeze, ti
and a grievance procedure aft-
er a four month rent strike. In th
August, tenants at Longshore s
Apartments with the held of the r
TU. won a five month long rent m
strike again Levick Manage- a
ment. Through collective har- c
gaining, these tenants too won il
a new lease for the entire 67
0
nice people
n negotiating and the use of officials.
an attorney. Even though the Alliances with labort
ettlement was reached out of would be on the agenda.
ourt, the tenants were prepar- Tenants Union will also
d to defend themselves in working closely with wo
ourt. groups to improve secur
Tenant Union members who rental housing and on thes
ived in the sixteen apartments Furthermore, tenant
and houses participating in the could organize block p
trike against Reliable Realty and potluck dinners and
have won over 15,000 dollars in a sense of community t
ack rent and damages through Arbor.
ourt. However, the poor main-
enance policies of Edith Ep- TENANTS ARE THE me
tein, the landlord, continue liable allies of tenants. Yo
[nd so does the strike. A reor- call at AATU at 761-1225 .
anizing drive will occur this by room 4110 Michigan U
month. -
CLEARLY, A TENANTS un-
on based on union locals has
he power to improve rental
onditions. This fall all tenants
in Washtenaw County will be gay gh
ncouraged to join the TU and To The Daily:
orm a local to bargain collec- My article "Coming Ou
ively with the landlord. Gay Ghetto" deals with a
There are so many practices of my life and does noti
hat need to be changed. Be- sent the "standard" ga
ides high rent, a low vacancy perience" but rather a
ate, and poor maintenance, we glomeration of them. W
must combat discriminations "Coming Out in a Gay G
gainst welfare recipients, un- helped me come to grips
onscienable lease clauses, and a personal crisis in my lif
ll-gal evictions. has since passed. I urg
B-sides counselling, and bar- Daily in the future to pu
unions
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street.
locals
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bring
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