TO THE MEMBERS OF THE VERMONT LEGISLATURE

From People Living in the Vermont, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire Towns
Closest to the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Reactor:

PLEASE RETIRE VERMONT YANKEE ON SCHEDULE!
(No Later Than March of 2012)

As residents of the evacuation zone surrounding the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Vernon, we call upon you, the members of the Vermont Legislature, to listen closely to our perspective as you decide the future of Vermont Yankee. More than anyone elses, it is our homes, our children and grandchildren, our livelihoods, our fields and forests, rivers and streams that are at stake.
We are tired of being told there is no radiation risk from the daily operation of the facility when we know there is. We ask that you take this threat to our lives seriously.
We are tired of living in fear of a nuclear catastrophe at Vermont Yankee as a result of its age, ramped up power output, and its frequent minor accidents, breakdowns, and operational lapses. As you consider the future of Vermont Yankee, we ask that you imagine living with this ever-present fear day in and day out.
We are tired of being asked to believe that evacuation plans will actually work. We ask that you imagine hearing the evacuation sirens go off and knowing that you will be separated from your children, that roads will be clogged, that there will be panic.
We are tired of Entergy's strategy of trading our long-term health and safety for their short-term profits. Entergy does not invest adequate resources into maintenance, and it is doing everything in its power to get out of long-term responsibility for clean-up. We ask that you not allow corporate greed to rule the day in Vermont.
We are tired of the misinformation that nuclear power is clean power as more and more radioactive waste amasses on the floodplain of our precious, life-sustaining Connecticut River. There is nothing more toxic to human and animal life, and nothing more contrary to the image of Vermont as a pristine and safe place to visit. We ask that you stop further accumulation of this poison.
We are tired of hearing that we cant get enough power from non-nuclear energy sources such as wind, water, and solar. VY produces only two percent of the power in the New England grid. Good conservation measures could eliminate the need for its power altogether. We ask that you provide leadership in replacing VYs power with power that is both safe and green.
We are tired of arguments that reduce the issue of closing VY to the potential for lost jobs and higher electricity rates. This narrow, short-term focus plays on peoples fears and ignores the larger risks and opportunities present in this historic moment. We ask that you provide leadership for the long-run.
Those of us who are your neighbors in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are tired of being endangered by a nuclear facility in Vermont over which neither we nor our elected representatives have any official say. This amounts to radiation without representation! We do not elect you, but we ask that you recognize that our needs are bound up with Vermonts and Vermonters.
For these reasons, we are appealing to you who, as Vermont legislators, do have both the legal authority and the opportunity to make sure Vermont Yankee is finally closed no later than the expiration date of its original 40-year license in March of 2012. By charting a new, safer, and more renewable energy future for Vermont and this region, you will be leading the way for nation as a whole. No discount electricity rate that Entergy may offer Vermonters can justify failing to take advantage of this opportunity. It is simply the right thing to do. Future generations will thank you for doing it.