Yuck on Yucca Mountain

President Obama's first budget is out. Those supporting science and technology funding will find a lot to cheer about. But (yes, the COMMENT part starts here) the decision to close the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository with NO alternative in place - or even in sight - is unsupportable. If there is one decision in the whole budget future generations (who will be stuck trying to work the problem all over again, now that decades of study and billions in preparatory work have been wasted) will wish had not been made, it's this one. It doesn't matter whether you think nuclear power is a good or bad idea. The plants exist and the waste is stacked up in marginally secure "temporary" facilities around the country, like it has been for decades. Worse, there's no chance Congress will reverse this and almost no chance another safe method that is politically acceptable will be found soon. We can only hope the consequences are not as bad as they might be.