FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

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The worldwide organization called Friends of the Earth is one of the most effective environmental groups in existence today, and the activities of FOE—along with a broad range of other news concerning ecological developments—are described each month in its publication titled Not Man Apart. You can become a member of Friends of the Earth, and receive the excellent tabloid, by sending $25 ($12 for students and retired people)—or $15 for a subscription only—to FOE, Dept. TMEN, 1045 Sansome Street, San Francisco, California 94111. And to increase the reach of the organization's doings, we've arranged to bring you this bi-monthly column, which is prepared by the staff of FOE/NMA.

IN ARMS WAY . . .

Advocates of a nuclear weapons freeze were only slightly discouraged, last summer, when the House resolution calling for a halt to arms buildup was defeated by a narrow two-vote margin. "After all," the group's officials noted, "six months prior to the vote, most members of Congress had never heard of the freeze . . . and on August 5th, 202 representatives went on record in support of the Zablocki resolution that promoted it. We've come a long way in a short time!"

The Freeze Campaign spokespersons went on to speculate whether the Broomfield resolution (supporting arms buildup) would have won at all had not the President, the Vice President, the Secretaries of State and Defense, and Pentagon officials expended so much effort (and taxpayers' money) to convince wavering representatives to—in effect—vote for the arms race!

BREEDER REACTOR DISPUTE IN TENNESSEE CONTINUES . . .

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also recently displayed its pro-administration colors, when it voted three to one (again on August 5th) in favor of a go-ahead to the proposed early site work on the much debated Clinch River Breeder Reactor in Tennessee . . . which means that work on this project could start before any licensing hearings come up. The Department of Energy is—no doubt—hoping that once "excavation" is under way, Congress will have no choice but to be generous in the next budget battle over funding the facility.

The reasons behind the conflict over the Tennessee plant are threefold. In the first place—while most nuclear plants run on uranium—this new breeder reactor can operate on recycled fuel . . . which would be a "plus" if it weren't for the fact that the breeder will produce excess amounts of plutonium (an ingredient used in the construction of nuclear weapons). Now a lot of nuclear freeze folks are just a little concerned (as well they should be) that the increased availability of plutonium could lead to stepped—up production of nuclear arms.

However, despite the obvious merit of this concern, it could well be another argu merit that actually stops the building of the Tennessee plant . . . the cost. Originally estimated at around $400 million, projected construction expenses are now at close to $3.5 billion! We can be thankful that the Clinch River Reactor is now faced with both licensing hearings and the maze of Congressional budgeting . . . because the outcome of this particular fight could be crucial to the future of nuclear arms buildup in the U.S.

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