Nuclear power and
To the editor:
I have not witnessed as much
political energy and activity in my
five years in Chapel Hill as I have
in the past six months. On the
surface it would appear that the
torch has been passed from the
opponents of UNC's investment
policies relating to South Africa to
the opponents of the Shearon
Harris nuclear power plant. In
. reality, however, the two groups
are largely divorced from each
other. The divestment movement
was dominated by students (and
rightfully so) and the movement in
opposition to Shearon Harris is
composed almost entirely of people
not associated with the University.
Robertson is the 'paradgiin New Might candidate'
He is the candidate of the
religious right. No, not Vice Pres
ident George Bush, endorsed by the
Rev. Jerry Falwell. No, not Jack
Kemp, the ultra conservative con
gressman from New York. Better
put, the Rev. Marion Gordon
"Pat" Robertson is the religious
right and last week he gave evi
dence that he is for real.
Robertson's political action
committee, the Freedom Council,
spent $340,000 on a vigorous
campaign to line up precinct
candidates in Michigan's delegate
selection process. When the
numbers were in, Robertson had
tied Bush and left Kemp looking
like a Little Leaguer inspecting his
glove after missing an easy pop fly.
A telegenic Anglo-Saxon, grad
uate of Yale Law School, and the
son of a former U.S. Senator,
Robertson is classified by religion
ists as a Neo-pentecostal. In his
case, that means a Southern Baptist
who believes in the gifts of the Holy
Spirit, such as speaking in tongues
and faith healing. Last October,
Shearon Harris alternatives impractical;
The debate over the safety and
economic feasibility of the Shearon
Harris nuclear power plant has
raged over the. years. Opponents
have raised their voices many times
in an attempt to stop the plant's
opening, but their cries each time
have been squelched by repeated
investigations and inquiries and
hearings concerning each of the
points raised.
Recently, after hearings that
generated almost 1,300 pages of
literature and personal testimony
producing 11,000 pages of mate
rial, the Atomic Safety and Licens
ing Board approved the licensing
of the plant for fueling and low
level testing. Still the voices of the
Coalition for Alternatives to Shea
ron Harris, or CASH, can be heard
recycling previously contested
points, and wearing them into the
ground. Many of their arguments
were valid, but they already have
been made, and handled by the
Nuclear Regulatory Commision
and the Atomic Safety and Licens
ing Board. Now, unless there are
new grievances, Shearon Harris
should be allowed to open and
This situation would not be of
concern if there existed no logical
link between these two issues.
Despite their substantive differen
ces, these issues are linked. Both
issues are characterized by a con
flict between an active and vocal
numerical majority and a relatively
small group of powerful men. In
the spring semester a student
referendum clearly illustrated the
overwhelming student support for
divestment. Each and every day,
people throughout this region are
demonstrating their opposition to
the loading of nuclear fuel into the
Shearon Harris nuclear reactor.
These two issues are united by
John cfeVHIs
Columnist
Robertson claimed to have
rebuked Hurricane Gloria from the
coast of his native Virginia with
prayer.
Robertson attempts, much like
Jesse Jackson did in 1984, not to
take stands on issues but to make
issues. Perhaps his chief advantage
over other Republican candidates
is that he leaves no room for other
candidates to appear more conser
vative on a given issue. The New
Right (Jesse Helms, Newt Gin
grinch, Paul Weyrich et al) in 1980
and 1984 politicized as a package
the issues of abortion, secular
humanism and evolution in public
schools, Communism, and social
programs as a platform for
"crusade-type" politicians from
which to wage war. Robertson is
Bill Logan
The Right Stuff
operate without further rhetoric
from the opposition.
CASH, led by Wells Eddleman,
raised many serious concerns in the
early stages of the plant's develop
ment. One of these was the viability
of the evacuation plan. The radius
around the plant considered the
emergency evacuation zone was
said to be too small. This was
reviewed again by the NRC, which
had previously examined the area
and said that it was totally safe and
realistic. The evacuation plan has
also been discussed over and over
by the Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board, and the plan's ability to be
implemented quickly and effi
ciently were major factors in the
board's decision to license the plant
for fueling.
The coalition also cited construc
tion flaws, specifically that the
cooling system . was poorly con
structed and that there were many
divestment
the fact that in both, people are
attempting to gain control over
actions that are supposedly being
taken for them. In a disappointing
move, the UNC Board of Trustees
responded to student action with
empty words. In the fight against
Shearon Harris, there are signs that
the voice of the people will be
heeded. Recently the government
of Chatham County and the City
of Durham passed resolutions
withdrawing from the evacuation
plan in accordance with the wishes
of their citizens. Similar action is
expected soon by the cities of
Chapel Hill and Carrboro. It is now
time to take the issue to the state
legislature and to Gov. James G.
unwavering on each issue making
him the paradigm New Right
candidate a litmus test by which
other conservative candidates will
be judged for political correctness.
"Oh, it's like a miracle," says a
supporter, "when you look back 10
months ago, who had ever heard
of him?" .
According to a 1985 Nielsen
survey, 16.3 million households
tune into Robertson's Christian
Broadcast Network for at least six
minutues every month. Robertson
and co-host Ben Kinchlow appear
four times a day on the network's
flagship program, The 700 Club.
His ability to raise the volume of
cash that would be necessary to
fund a presidential campaign is
shown by the $233 million in
revenues CBN generated last year,
coming mostly from viewer
donations.
Political observers on both the
right and left are wondering if
Robertson's victory represents a
temporary perk in the electoral
bad pipes and valves. This charge
was recognized and thoroughly
investigated by the Nuclear Reg
ulatory Commision and the
Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board, which found the charge to
be totally unsupported.
In addition to their accusations,
CASH has suggested four alterna
tives to Shearon Harris, all of
which are impractical. The first was
already mentioned; conversion to
other fuels. They also suggested
that industries be encouraged to '
generate their own power with the
surplus going to the consumer. The
construction manager for Fraser,
Morrow,, and Daniels, a develop
ment firm in the Triangle area, said
that one of the major attracting
factors for industry in the Triangle
is the ready availability of power .
and other utilities. Were the respon
sibility placed on industry to
provide its own power, many
companies would abandon the
Triangle for an area in which this
commodity would be provided.
, The third option was "Purchased
Power" from an Ohio based com
pany called American Electrical
The
Issues linked
Martin and see whether they stand
with the people or the utilities. -
It is my feeling that the relative
absence of student involvement in
the fight against Shearon Harris
reflects a delusional belief that
UNC is a world unto itself. This
is unfortunately not the case. The
recent nuclear accident in the
Soviet Union made it clear that a
nuclear accident at Shearon Harris
(less than 25 miles from here) could
contaminate Chapel Hill beyond
repair. Bye-bye Dean Dome. Lest
you think this is a danger far off
in the future, CP&L hopes to load
nuclear fuel in July and commercial
operations by the end of this year.
process or the beginning of a New
Right juggernaut. Probably
neither. But then that probably
won't stem the anxious feelings on
either side.
The Republican establishment is
not likely to tolerate an outsider
who is potentially divisive in the
party for very long they got an
education along with the rest of us
watching the Jackson candidacy.
The GOP power brokers task will
be one of appeasing Robertson,
moving him out of the picture,
while maintaining the political
capital of the New Right platform
as not to alienate Robertson's
constituency.
The paternalistic press, which
regards itself as liberal, is unsure
on how to deal with a truly religious
candidate. Jackson carried the title
of "reverend" but didn't harp on
such religious issues as creationism
vs. evolution.
The press alternates between
hysteria and delight on the prospect
of a Robertson candidacy depend
Power. The coalition cited a state
ment made by one of the power
companies representatives saying
that if CP&L would purchase
power from them at 10 cents per
jcilowatt hour, their company could
provide 900 megawatts of "guaran
teed power." This is a complete
misrepresentation of facts. In a
telephone interview Tuesday, a
spokesmen for the company said
that he had said nothing of the sort
and that he "didn't know what kind
of bull people were spreading
around." He said that for any
reasonable estimate of the feasibil
ity of this option, CP&L would
have to call their research depart
ment and talk to them personally.
He added that even if they did make
an aggreement, power would only
be available in small amounts,
nothing large enough to replace a
nuclear unit.
The fourth and final option given
to CP&L by CASH was simple,
improved efficiency in existing
plants coupled with solar power.
This would work well if the Tri
angle remained at its present size.
The Shearon Harris plant is being
Tar Heel Thursday, June 5, 198613
We have a duty to ourselves and
to future generations of UNC
students to do all that we can to
stop this from occurring. Much can
be done, from writing letters to
attending political meetings and
rallies. To learn what you can do,
stop by the CASH (Coalition for
Alternatives to Shearon Harris)
table located in front of the Post
Office on Franklin Street.
P.S. A great way to meet people
is to walk up and say "What are
YOU doing to stop Shearon
Harris?"
Niall Michelsen
graduate student
political science
ing on what he is doing at the
moment. If he disparagesd Rather
& Co., feathers are ruffled. If he
is selling his book, "Answers to 200
of Life's Most Probing Questions,"
he is seen as good copy.
For those of us that are slightly
more to the left, we are concerned
not with his candidacy but his
wealth and media power. He has
given millions in "humanitarian
aid" to the contras codename
Operation Blessing. He promotes
an eschatological view that has the
Soviet Union and Middle Eastern
countries attacking Israel but then
being defeated by natural, God
inspired, catastrophes.
I'm not worried about Pat
becoming president, though. The
restless American public with its
ever-shrinking attention span is
bound to get tired of anybody who
appears on television four times a
day.
John deVille is a senior philo
sophy major from Highlands.
plant safe
built because of the growing need
for power in the Triangle area. To
neglect this need is defeating to this
area and its great industry. The
money provided by new industry
attracted to this area by its readily
available commodities will far
outweigh any temporal financial
gains made by small efficiency
increases and relatively ineffective
solar power.
Shearon Harris carries with it a
risk, but this risk is no larger than
the risk taken by people every day
when they get into their cars to
drive to work. It produces relatively
inexpensive and efficient power
and should now be allowed to
operate without further incumber
ance from individuals or organiza
tions with overdriven arguments
who would not only like to stop
Shearon Harris, but any nuclear
plant.
Bill Logan is a junior biology from
Chapel Hill whose weekly column in
the Summer Tar Heel has been a
constant source of controversy.
Letters to the editor are gladly
accepted.