Editor’s note: This op-ed is by Dan DeWalt, who writes for ThisCan’tBeHappening.net.
Defying the will of Vermonters, Entergy Nuclear has successfully won the first stage of its trial to allow it to break its word and to usurp the rights of the Vermont Legislature. Judge J. Garvin Murtha effectively delivered a slap in the face to the people of Vermont by saying that [contrary to prior Supreme Court judgements] the Legislature has no right to regulate the operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. The Public Service Board is now the only state entity that has the power to decide Vermont Yankee’s future.
The judge also bought Entergy’s argument that he should base his judgement not upon the written legislation in question, but rather by retroactively reading the minds of the legislators to judge what they were thinking at the time.
This ruling goes hand in glove with current federal policies that enrich the 1% and keep power firmly in the hands of America’s largest corporations. It affirms that corporate profits trump the interests of the citizenry. It attempts to belittle the state Legislature and misrepresents their legislation while defending the laughable notion that only the federal government can be trusted to keep us safe from radiological accidents caused by corporate malfeasance and profit-driven lax practices.
More significantly, the ruling should serve as the catalyst to spark Vermonters who have been watching this struggle from the sidelines to join the citizen effort to shut down Vermont Yankee before an accident shuts it down for us.
The executives of Entergy have lied under oath repeatedly to the Vermont Legislature, tried to bribe the Legislature (in Louisiana talk, they called it a gift offer) and have run roughshod over every aspect of the state’s self governance, relying on their tight association with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which abets rather than regulates the industry, to ensure that their reprehensible actions are allowed to occur unchecked.
The State of Vermont can fight back, trying to rein in this corporate behemoth, but federal law and the courts are limiting the state’s possible responses.
A majority of Vermonters know that Vermont Yankee has run its course and needs to be shut down as originally licensed. Now people are turning to their neighbors to organize. Affinity groups are forming throughout the region. Sagealliance.net http://sagealliance.net/ is providing non-violence trainings to people who are willing to risk arrest.
March is going to be a month for taking action. Students at Greenfield Community College are organizing a walk from GCC to the reactor on March 3. On March 11, the anniversary of the ongoing Fukishima nuclear disaster in Japan, commemorations will be held at the reactor and various locations throughout the state. There will be a shut it down rally at the Statehouse with our state representatives on March 21. On April 1, a major rally (without a civil disobedience component) will be held in Brattleboro, where Vermonters will make clear our support for the state’s right to regulate our utilities. Civil disobedience and direct action will be doubtlessly be directed towards Entergy Nuclear if they continue to operate past the March 21 license expiration date.
Our state will continue to assert its right to control our energy generating future, but it needs our help. Only with a strong partnership of people power and government action will we be able to achieve victory over the entrenched interests of the money powered corporate oligarchy.
Vermonters are determined to thwart those who would put us at risk for the sake of their profits. The Arab Spring and the Occupy movement have shown us the potential power of the people. When we stand by and watch our leaders lead, we often find ourselves in peril. When we assert our own sovereign power we take the first step towards building a better future for us all.
