Well, Tim, as one gets older, one often finds that the "establishment" (hiding card demonstrating my own membership) keeps finding new and different ways to be terribly, terribly wrong. Being suspicious of conventional wisdom is not just a mindset for misanthropes; it's the sanest response after one's been sold a bill of goods.

I'm not anti-nuke in an irrational NIMBY-ish fashion, but I admit that few if any people would want a plant next door. Remember, there's also the little problem of transporting the waste. Do you want that convoy of radioactive crap going past your front door? Or on a poorly-maintained or overworked stretch of rail behind your house? No, I didn't think so.

Also, Diablo is probably not the best example to cite when talking about how wonderful nukes are, especially since the place has to be throttled down during winter storms; something about not wanting to suck kelp into the cooling system if I understand the problem. It's also pretty notorious for having parts of key systems installed backwards on the first go-around, and for having a major fault right offshore. Yes, the place has been reinforced, but that's according to building standards that are a quarter-century old. We've had two major earthquakes in Calif. since Diablo One and Two went online, so you'll excuse us aging hippies for being a little skittish of nukes.

An FYI for everyone terrified of nuclear power: Chernobyl can't happen again. The RBMK model reactors — only used in Russia — were retrofitted for better control, containment and mitigation years ago. Three Mile Island, in hindsight, turns out to be a classic media scarefest. A post-action review at MIT found that "The melted nuclear core was contained and any radiation released was minimal. Thus, the plant design and safety protocols actually worked, despite numerous operator mistakes." Thirty years later, Westinghouse has designed a nuke that doesn't even need backup generators to stay cool if there's a power outage.

We should be worried about nuclear waste disposal, not a China Syndrome-style meltdown. Nuclear waste processing has been engineered for the type of waste (LLW, MLW and HLW) that has been produced and effective strategies are working successfully right now. The real problem is that people gladly use the electricity cranked out by nukes, but freak out if there's a waste site within 2,000 miles of their backyards.

Meanwhile, I wonder how many greenies know that fossil fuel releases radioactive material when burned? Uranium ore and other radioactive material are stored naturally in coal ore, from which America still gets about half of its electricity. Compared to the old choke factory at Hunter's Point, Diablo Canyon sure is pretty.