Policies- Environmental

In order to fix the damages made onto our environment we need to take matter into our own hands. Instead of pointing fingers and assuming others will fix this problem, individuals need to step to the plate and start figuring out what we can do ho help.Using less water and energy while at home or using more solar power devices is a start. People could also recycle more and use less paper items such as paper plates and cups. Also, with the new advances in technology people can drive Hybrids or a Prias to help conserve gas. The gas prices keep sky rocketing and in order to not only save money but less pollution and conserve our limited gasoline resources people can start carpooling more. In the la times article i found:"The Energy Department's safety plan for handling containers of radioactive waste before they are buried at the proposed Yucca Mountain dump has become a "fool's errand," according to a major nuclear equipment supplier.Under current plans, the casks of nuclear waste material awaiting burial at Yucca Mountain could be sent into a "chaotic melee of bouncing and rolling juggernauts" in an earthquake, according to Holtec International, one of the nation's largest manufacturers of nuclear waste storage systems.The blistering critique of safety standards is in a newsletter that Holtec sent last week to its customers and suppliers, warning that the project has become a "doomed undertaking." Holtec supplies storage casks to power plants around the country.Nevada officials say the harsh comments deepen their concerns about the site of the repository."It shows a lack of attention to safety," Robert Loux, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, said Thursday.An Energy Department spokesman said he had not seen Holtec's critique and had no immediate response. The agency applied Tuesday for a license to build the facility, calling for 70,000 metric tons of waste eventually to be sent by truck and rail to the mountain.Once the waste arrived, it would have to cool down -- for years in some cases -- before being placed in deep tunnels. Joy Russell, Holtec's sales and marketing manager, said the Energy Department wanted the material to cool down in casks without adequate seismic anchors or other restraints.In May, the government rejected a proposal from Holtec for a temporary underground storage system that the company says would maintain safety in the event of earthquakes and airplane crashes. It instead chose two lower bidders who proposed unanchored systems, Russell said.The company intends to develop the below-ground storage system at its own cost.The government expects Yucca Mountain to experience earthquakes that produce ground movement comparable to a magnitude 6.5. In such a quake, "pigs will fly before the cask[s] will stay put," the newsletter said."

Ready, Set, VOTE!!!

The California primaries actually began today, January 7, 2008. Registered voters could apply for absentee primary ballots and return them by February 5th. Furthermore, I learned that voters in LA County could request the absentee ballot electronically at lavote.net or by mail at Registrar-Recorder/Country Clerk, P.O. Box 30450, Los Angeles, CA 90030-0450. I also learned that the last day to register to vote in California’s presidential primary is January 22. I am really excited to see how this goes because I am going to eighteen on July 5, 2008, which means I will be able to vote for the President. It just seems cool to know that people could vote right now through absentee ballot, especially by receiving it electronically.
I think that people can vote now and just sent in their ballot is really surprising. For some reason i forgot about the absentee ballot. Espeically by getting it from the online website lavote.net. seems to be the most fun part