A popular media axiom notes that you can say whatever you want in a headline as long as you phrase it as a question. C-Ville News seems to have picked up on this deceptive trick with their cover story of last week: "30 miles to meltdown?" -- a skewed indictment of Dominion Power's plans to add two new reactors to the existing nuclear facility in Mineral, Va.
Using scare tactics to frighten people away from nuclear power is nothing new. Indeed, the C-Ville article is just a symptom of the disturbing tendency in the anti-nuclear movement to use exaggerated or distorted misinformation in order to alarm the public and shift the debate away from the merits of nuclear power.
Another group engaged in this campaign of fear is the People's Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE), the group around which opposition to the nuclear facility is based, and whose Web site outlines the reasons to oppose the new site.
The Web site lists a collection of the top ten reasons to oppose the expansion of the nuclear facility. The list is proof that liberals who blame Bush for inventing false connections to terrorism are awfully good at doing it themselves. Case in point is reason number three on the PACE list, which calls the site a "pre-deployed dirty bomb" and says, "In an age of increased risk of terrorism, it makes no sense to construct new targets."
In the last ten years, four office buildings have been attacked by terrorists on American soil. No nuclear facility ever has. As far as I know, few people have called for a halt in the construction of new office building "targets." Neither has anyone suggested that we stopped building airplanes, or as PACE might call them, "pre-deployed guided missiles."
Perhaps PACE knew readers might find the possibility of a successful plot against Dominion Power somewhat far-fetched, but not after reading reason four: "vulnerability from airplane crashes."
PACE maintains that "There is a large airfield for cargo and general aviation very close to the North Anna site," adding "there remains a clear and present danger from a hijacked, stolen or rented aircraft that could be used in a sabotage of a nuclear power station."
It turns out, the airport to which PACE is reffering is the Louisa County Airport, which is nearly three times as far from the North Anna power station as the sprawling Regan National airport is from the capital building, a much higher profile "target." And by no means could anyone call the tiny Louisa County Airport a "large airfield," unless, of course, such hyperbole scares the public.
The mention of the Louisa County Airport as "very close," without noting that is almost ten miles away represents an effort to mislead the public into believing that the airport represents a unique threat. In fact, most urban airports are within ten miles of much higher profile targets than Mineral's power station.
The remaining reasons on the list are even more dubious than the made-up airport threat, such as alleged radioactive water, and a failure to project population trends until 2070 (think of someone during the Hoover administration trying to predict Charlottesville's current population). The only true problem on the top ten list is the "entrainment of
Read More
Letters to the Editor: The resignation of University President Jim Ryan
7 hours agoFollowing this resignation, The Cavalier Daily has received letters from the University community which provide various perspectives on what this moment means to them and to the University’s future.
A statement by 40 Jewish faculty and staff on antisemitism and DEI at U.Va.
By Jewish Faculty & Staff at U.Va. | YesterdayAs scholars and teachers, we know that dissent and debate strengthen our intellectual commitments and moral judgments rather than threaten them. We reject any attempt to deny these basic truths.
KURTZWEIL: Little sympathy for LittleJohn’s closure
By Paul Kurtzweil | 6 days agoWith a new class of students arriving in August, Corner restaurants will face another test of their price discrimination and thus need to learn LittleJohn’s lesson quickly.
