Extraterrestrial
I appreciated Michael Gerrard's August piece, "Dodging the NIMBY Bullet: A Solution to Waste Facility Siting" (Perspective, p. 18). Waste facility siting is a subject that I consider a significant problem facing every U.S. citizen. Clearly, source reduction and recycling of waste should be and often is given priority over the construction of new disposal capacity. But at some point all local communities must come to grips with waste disposal.
Federal designation of regional compacts for low-level radioactive waste facility siting, and the state's capacity assurance planning for hazardous waste facility siting have been established, in part, to make it easier for local communities to handle their own waste. But these programs have failed to encourage communities to take responsibility. It would seem that the "NIMBY Bullet" is alive and well and always loaded for discharge. And if you think you've found a solution to dodging the bullet, try and find a solution to NOPE (em "Not On Planet Earth," or NIMEY (em "Not In My Election Year." Local opposition will also ensue.