Energy in the West

While it may not be green or (entirely) renewable energy, nuclear power has been a potential contender for energy usage within the United States. In Montrose county, for example, there has been heated debate as to whether a new uranium mill should be built. Telluride News reports on the Rocky 4-esque clashing of two ideals (albeit less violent). The entire meeting had an economic undertone, as many decisions were based on the recession alone. It has been estimated the mine would create more than 85 new, much-needed jobs; while this may be a brief stimulus package, a more useful, long-lasting job-maker would be reprocessing (recycling) uranium. To explain it simply, a byproduct of reprocessed nuclear fuel is plutonium, which can also be used to fuel a nuclear power plant. Not only would this method keep the Colorado landscape unscratched, but also keep unnecessary uranium from being mined and put into production. Since this nonrenewable resource may be a little more renewable than given credit for, we should take advantage of this and direct our capabilities to recycling uranium rather than our wasteful, “throw-away” lifestyle.
Now on the other side of things: putting resources into the ground. The Denver Post reports on the newest form of the “green” movement: green burials. A one acre piece of the Fort Collins cemetery will be designated for burials without any type of vault or embalming. While my spiritual side is all for a part of the deceased becoming a piece of the flowers, the bloom; my ethical side can't seem to accept a ceremony as sacred as burying the dead labelled as part of the “green” movement. As great as the green movement is, there has to be a line drawn somewhere; I can imagine a grieving, vulnerable family going over such a trivial yet painful process of finding the resting place of their loved one and being offered a “green” alternative. Rest the deceased anyway you like: burying, cremating, setting sail on a burning viking ship; just don't attach a label to whichever way you do it.

Jamison Griffith