monday, eprll 23, 1979
daily nebraskan
pago 5
8 ti fe &tiftB
As Mike Hammer aptly points out In his letter. April
16, energy policy should not be strictly In the purview of
the politician. But neither should it be strictly In the
hands of the engineering "expert." Mr. Hammer assumes
that our society must have more and more large genera
tion facilities. This puts society as a whole at the mercy of
the centralized military Industrial-governmental complex.
The road to energy Independence for this nation is thw
road to energy independence, from the energy conglomer
ate for the individual citizen.
Richard Sutton
Assistant professor
Horticulture
Engineering ethics
In a recent editorial, Mike Hammer states that thermal
pollution is a byproduct of all power plants. What he
neglects to say is that thermal pollution from a solar plant
is insignificant. Sunlight is transformed into heat whether
it strikes a solar collector or not.
Unfortunately, pollution from a nuclear plant Is of
great significance. No mention is made that nuclear pro
duction shares the same impact as was stressed for coal
production. Strip mining, toxic by-products and degrad
ation of the environment are common characteristics of
both. Even if it was economically feasible, only some
nuclear wastes can be reprocessed. As to the remaining
portion of wastes, there is no acceptable means of
disposal.
Mike notes that ten square miles of land must be used
for the mirrors of a 1,000 megawatt solar plant. Yet he
makes no note of the land consumed by uranium strip
mines and obsolete nuclear plants. Nor does he note that
people can safely live much closer to these mirrors than
to uranium tailing or nuclear plants.
- Nuclear power with all its shortcomings is supposedly
an economic necessity. Yet the price of a wind energy
system is competitive with the price of additional nuclear
power in Nebraska. Once built, renewable energy systems
can operate for years with maintenance the sole addition
al cost. In addition, materials can easily be recycled when
obsolete, a claim that cannot be made of nuclear plants.
- Mike remarks that "conservation. . . and alternative
fuel sources will not replace nuclear plants." This seems to
suggest a serious dependency Upon nuclear power. Yet
nuclear power plants supply only 12 percent of bur
nation's electrical consumption or 3 percent of our total
energy consumption.
The problem of energy lies not with the production of
electricity but with replacement of non-renewable fossil
fuels for transportation and heat generation. Renewable
energy sources can be adapted more efficiently to perform
needed tasks than can nuclear power.
' Mr. Hammer questions the faith placed in the opinion
of politicians. By the same token, should we trust those
experts who are presidents of utility companies or manu
facturers of reactors. Trust is a difficult quality to acquire
when so much money and so many careers depend on the
continuation of nuclear power. We should trust ourselves
and respect some of the experts.
In our technological society, engineers and scientists
should, and rightly so, take credit for their accomplish
ments. Yet if they receive credit, they must also be held
responsible for exposing the drawbacks of the technol
ogy they create. We are humans first, engineers second,
and thus have moral obligations which supersede any
technical obligations.
Eugene Iacone
Graduate Student
Mech. Engineering
Jeffrey V. Lindstrom
Senior
Mech. Engineering
Draft alternative
Larry Hassebrook
Senior
Electrical Engineering
DarrylBoyd
Senior
Urban Studies
Historically, our country has demobilized during
periods of no war, guarding against the dangers to demo
cracy posed by a perpetual standing army -and allowing
people and resources to be devoted to other needs on the
human agenda. With the advent of nuclear weapons allow
ing zero lead time, this strong American tradition has
been violated and we remain constantly mobilized, throw
ing valuable resources into an arms race. Carter! proposed
allotment of income tax dollars for next year would give
46 percent to the military. (When the administration says
military spending Is 23 percent, it is counting Li the ex-
Enditure of trust funds such as Social Security," a ruse
troduced by Nixon.)
In this situation , our responsibility to the young people
of this nation Is not to require national service to build
loyalty and trust In the government, as Rep. John Cavan
sugh would have us believe. Our responsibility Is to turn
our attention to the intricacies of disarmament and the
tMishment of neiceful means of settling international
bputej;to free ourselves and the world of the oppression
of a nudear presence. This wiUtake many years, and what
we as i nation should be asking of young people is their
fresh commitment and new insights, in the difficult task.
The military draft aspect of a new National Service
Program at worst would promote war and at best would
tie up acre lives tsd money to miktionary "defense
tpen&ng. The alternate service option could be an opport
unity for creative development of talents, but would more
likely be a down-played, uninspiring Subsistence pay,
drudge work choice.
Young people have much more to offer than this and
deserve a much better opportunity.
Marian Todd
Student Court complaint
"What, we have here, Associates, is simply another Isol
ated case of student concern and this student should not
have any reason to believe that he has a personal stake
in the outcome or process of this issue. It is so order
ed. . . A familiar scenario in which the student voice
falls upon deaf ears; obviously another NU Board of
Regents' meeting. But there is a difference In this scenario,
a difference much more dire in its implications. Because
this time it is not the regents who have ignored the
students, but a branch of our own student government
the judicial branch known as Student Court.
In the past month two students have, brought suits
before the courts on matters of concern which affect all
students; specifically, who our elected representatives are
and how they are chosen. The merits of the cases brought
by Bob Gleason and Ben Shomshor will never be known
because the court, in all its wisdom, declared that these
concerned students have no stake in the way student
government is run on this campus and, therefore, they had
no standing to sue in Student Court. With premature
visions of a possible Law Review presidency dancing in
their heads, the members of the court have effectively
ignored the rights of students to check the functioning
of the association of which they are all members-blatant-ly
rejecting Article III of the ASUN Constitution. What
the court is mandating is that each one of us need not
bother to vote because we have no stake in the current
election.
Chief Justice Cassel has succeeded in creating a legal
istic quagmire in which the often indecipherable nuances
and vagaries of the law swamp the typical student un
schooled in such a field. This court no longer belongs to
the students for whom it was intended, but has become a
legal playground where the chief justice and his associates
play a judicial God-gave with the rights of students on this
campus.
Some form of action must, be taken with respect to
judicial reform. Whereas impeachment proceedings would
further undermine the credibility of student government
in this election. I would urge the members of next year's
court to consider the ramification of recent actions and
further, I would urge the members of the new senate to
seriously consider the possibility of legislating judicial
reform perhaps reconsidering the "need" for a law student
to serve as ehief justice. ,
It Is indeed a dark hour for students on this campus
when the time has come that they have ho recourse to
check the actions of student government. Injustice rather
' than justice is served by holding students to the same
complex legal standard found In higher Courts. The pur
pose of the student court is to serve the students, its
functions should be made indicative of its name. . .
Brad Belt
Senator
vj 2,se night
O Thursday April 19th
7pm-10pm
i m (jjijufc tjft '-ww MiMMjgn
HEADS TOGETHER 17th &"R
c3irpiY
rlj to share
r 4 ; -theride!
- MJ A3 I
I1 -Jj
S o J.
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1 KM
Men - Women
OPPORTUNITY!
Take a break today you'll be glad you
took for the rest of your life. Meet with
a special selection team from the Depart
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The team will be in Lincoln for four
days only at the Clayton House, 10th &
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Wednesday, April 25 - 10am-8pm
Thursday, April 26 - 10am-8pm
Friday, April 27 - 10am-8pm
Saturday, April 28 - 9am-Noon
Explore with these specialists new
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The team also will have a NCR 260 com
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With It, they'll show you how an appli
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Call Now for an Appointment
483-2221
JOIN THE PEOPLE WHO'VE
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An equal opportunity employer.
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