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Read last week's news and realize that, yes, Utah is the nuclear nexis of the United States. Deseret News reported on the confusing repercussions of Energy Solution's proposed acquisition of a west Texas facility handling low-level radioactive waste. The feds don't like the monopolistic aspect of it, but N-waste critics think the purchase would allow waste to be sent to Texas instead of Utah. Then, there's the Blue Castle plan to build a nuclear plant on the Green River. Oops, it missed some hefty pre-operational payments to the two affected counties. Now, BC wants to renegotiate, a story in The Salt Lake Tribune says. Meanwhile, surprise! Daily Utah Chronicle let us know that the only nuclear reactor in the Beehive State is housed at the University of Utah. It doesn't generate electricity, but helps in research. The problem, which they're working on, is to develop concrete that won't become activated and result in millions of dollars worth of disposal costs.
No Man's Land
Forget about the bogus War on Christmas. Utah and other Western states are facing a war on history. Rep. Rob Bishop is pushing away at his Public Lands Initiative, an effort that is bound to ensure a legacy for him as the person who tirelessly sought to destroy the nation's natural heritage. Bishop is meeting with Donald Trump's transition team to discuss undoing Obama's monument designations, which include Grand Staircase Escalante, two new monuments in New Mexico, and the possibility of stopping the Bears Ears monument in its tracks. That alone has activated the Ute Nation, among other Native American tribes, to protest. It doesn't matter whose land it is. What matters is whether it will be denuded and pillaged by the desperate oil-and-gas industry.
Living on a Prayer
In 2005, skeptics thought that prayer didn't exactly help fertility. In 2014, a study took returned Mormon missionaries and scanned their brains to see if prayer makes them better people. And now today, both The Salt Lake Tribune and Deseret News have reported on the continuing study that showed parts of the brain lighting up at spiritual thoughts. It's almost funny to see yet another study on prayer. Most, of course, have focused on whether it works, and there are mixed results. It's unclear what these studies hope to show, but they might just demonstrate how different people react to different stimuli. In 2006, The New York Times wrote of 10 studies that showed prayer didn't do a danged thing. But it's possible people can do it for themselves.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses and Citizen Revolt columns. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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