Ever since Sandy Mush in Madison County was seriously considered for housing nuclear waste, concerned citizens have continued to make presentations at Unitarian Universalist churches. Some sense the danger of reconsideration is always looming. At a recent gathering in Franklin, activist Mary Olson encouraged private citizens to waste less fuel. She argued the tradeoff between cleaner everyday air and deadly accidents was a false dilemma. The country could maintain its current standard of living with half as much energy “production.”
The strangest recurring complaint is that people don’t want trucks hauling nuclear waste on Asheville’s highways. It would be much better for the ticking time-bombs to wend their way through switchback, hilly terrain where drivers playing Dukes of Hazard spring out from blind corners in the wrong lane.